PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns and their so-called Big Three return home to the desert in a big pickle.
Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and the Suns are in a 2-0 hole heading into Friday’s Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who looked mostly dominant in a pair of double-digit wins in the first two games.
There are two more Game 3s on Friday, including Bucks at Pacers and Clippers at Mavericks. Both of those series are tied at 1-1.
Durant has been on a team that recovered from a 2-0 deficit to win a series — the 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder — but said there’s no advice he or anyone else can give to pull the Suns out of their current predicament.
Instead, they just have to play better.
“You can talk all you want, but if you don’t execute what you just talked about, it does you no good,” Durant said. “Talking and rah-rah speeches are cool to a certain point, but you’ve got to go out there and execute.
“We haven’t done that. We’ve done it in spurts, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not good enough doing it in spurts.”
The Suns hoped to be one of the NBA’s best teams this year after acquiring Beal in an offseason trade, adding the three-time All-Star to a roster that already included Durant and Booker. But Beal’s myriad of injuries early in the season kept him out of the lineup for long stretches, and the group never quite found consistent cohesion.
A 10-4 record to close the regular season was encouraging, but the first two games of the playoffs were not. Now there are only a few more chances to get it right, or the season ends in disappointment.
The Timberwolves dominated a big chunk of the first two games, defending home court with a pair of double-digit wins. Anthony Edwards scored 33 points in Game 1 while Jaden McDaniels had a playoff-best 25 points in Game 2.
Game 3 is at 10:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN.
PACERS-BUCKS: Two days after snapping a franchise-record 10-game playoff losing streak, the Indiana Pacers can take their first series lead in seven seasons. The last time it happened, Indiana took a 2-1 advantage over Cleveland in 2018 before losing the series in seven games. Milwaukee, meanwhile, has lost five of seven meetings with Indiana this season and hopes to avoid a second straight first-round exit. The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has missed almost three full weeks with a strained left calf, is listed as doubtful. Coach Doc Rivers said Antetokounmpo did more at Thursday’s practice than he has been doing but is still being held out of live action. And now Khris Middleton’s availability is in doubt, too. He played through a right ankle injury in Game 2 but did not practice Thursday. He’s listed as questionable. The series is tied 1-1. with Game 3 set for 8 p.m. Friday on ESPN.
MAVERICKS-CLIPPERS: The Clippers ceded home-court advantage for now with a 96-93 loss in Game 2. The bright side for LA was Kawhi Leonard appearing to come through Game 2 in good shape physically. The star forward missed the final eight games of the regular season and the series opener with right knee inflammation. The Mavericks played great defense to even the series, and offensive gurus Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were a big part of that effort. Doncic is scoring (32.5 points per game after leading the NBA at 33.9 in the regular season) but struggling a bit from long range (9 of 26 on 3-pointers). Game 3 is at 8 p.m. Friday on ESPN.
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