Minnesota Timberwolves defeated
Phoenix Suns on Saturday in Game 1 of the first round series of the NBA
Playoffs 2024 between the two franchises. With a stellar performance by
Anthony Edwards, the home team made it 1-0 against a Suns that will have to keep rowing to be able to stand up to their rival and, hopefully, snatch home-court advantage in the next game of the playoffs.
One of the highlights of Game 1 was when Edwards himself addressed
Kevin Durant after scoring a three-pointer in his face, telling him: "old a** n****". Far from getting angry, the Phoenix star, in his statements after Game 1, assured that this is normal, not only in the playoffs, but in a basketball game, and that now it's his turn to respond on the court.
"Yeah, it's just basketball, not even playoffs, basketball. You get hot, you make tough shots, you're going to be excited about yourself when they go in," Durant explained. "So it's up to me to turn it around and respond (on the court)."
Anthony Edwards was the star of Game 1, with 33 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Meanwhile, Durant was the best player of a Suns that failed to accompany him during the game: With 31 points, 'KD' noticed very little of the little offensive presence of his great teammate, a Devin Booker who barely got 18 points.
In the battle in both paint, Rudy Gobert completely overwhelmed Jusuf Nurkic. The former finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds, while the latter could barely put in nine points and grab four rebounds.
Game 2 of the series will once again be in Minneapolis, with Minnesota Timberwolves leading Phoenix Suns 1-0, and will be played on Tuesday at 7:30 PM ET.