The Suns play the Minnesota Timberwolves for the first time this season.
SUNS VS WOLVES HISTORY:
The Suns and Timberwolves split four meetings last season, all before New Years.
Phoenix won on November 11th when Devin Booker and T.J. Warren each scored 35 points and on December 16, the Suns’ bench scored 69 points as the team erased a 15-point deficit to win in Minnesota.
The Suns won the first 25 games in the series, which is their longest win streak against a single team in franchise history.
Phoenix holds the all-time record against Minnesota with a 69-40 advantage.
DEFENSE VS DALLAS:
The Suns are looking for consecutive wins after holding Dallas to opponent season lows of 89 points, 39.7 percent from the field and 15.2 percent from three-point range in Thursday’s victory.
The Suns held the Mavericks to 5-of-33 from three-point range with the 15.2 percent mark being the second-lowest ever by a Suns opponent to take at least 30 attempts from three-point range (New York was 5-of-37, 13.5%, on Dec. 15, 2008).
The Suns have increased their defensive pressure in the month of December, ranking first in the NBA with 10.7 steals per game, 3rd with 17.6 deflections per game and 4th with 16.7 forced turnovers per game.
TONY BUCKETS GETTING BUCKETS:
T.J. Warren scored a season-high 30 points in Thursday’s win over the Mavericks.
In his two full games since returning from injury, Warren is averaging 26.5 points on 60.6 percent shooting over the last two games.
Warren ranks tied for 11th in the NBA by shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range. The 22.2 percent increase from last season would be the largest improvement from a previous season in NBA history.
INJURY UPDATE:
Josh Jackson (left great toe sprain) is available tonight.
Devin Booker (left hamstring strain) will start tonight.