Hawks coach Quin Snyder compliments Suns coach’s progress
Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder praised the progress of Phoenix Suns first-year head coach Jordan Ott. The two worked together in Atlanta in 2013-14.
No Devin Booker. No Dillon Brooks.
No problem for Collin Gillespie.
Gillespie’s driving shot with 6.4 seconds left in regulation lifted the Phoenix Suns to a 114-113 thriller over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, Nov. 21, after trailing by eight points with under a minute left.
The T-Wolves (10-6) dropped to 2-1 in NBA Cup group play while the Suns (10-6) improved to 2-0 in NBA Cup play.
Gillespie scored just four of his 20 points in the second half with his final two giving the Suns an improbable victory. The players all ran on the court in celebration with Gillespie in the middle of it.
Anthony Edwards scored 19 of his game-high 41 points in the third quarter to tie a season high, but missed two free throws with 12.7 seconds left to set up Gillespie’s heroics as Phoenix used its last timeout.
Minnesota didn’t have any timeouts left. So when Gillespie hit the winning shot, the T-Wolves were forced to advance it. Julius Randle launched a 28-footer he missed at the horn.
Dillon Brooks paced the Suns with 22 points while Devin Booker managed just 16 points on 4-of-18 shooting (1-of-6 from 3), 10 assists and nine turnovers to match a career high.
They both fouled out. Booker was the first to exit 3:23 left in the game and Phoenix up two, 102-100.
Booker also drew a technical foul after fouling out as he had words for the referees. The Suns made a spirited comeback to pull within a point after trailing by eight with under a minute left, but Brooks was called for an offensive foul after shoving Randle down with 18 seconds left.
Brooks fouled out on the play. Phoenix challenged the call and it was ruled unsuccessful after review, but the Suns still managed to pull out the wild win.
Jalen Green (right hamstring strain), Grayson Allen (right quad contusion) and rookie Rasheer Fleming (left ankle sprain) all were out for Phoenix.
The Suns continue their homestand on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 6 p.m., against the San Antonio Spurs.
Gillespie leads Suns to hafltime lead
Collin Gillespie scored a game-high 16 points in leading Phoenix to a 62-49 halftime lead in NBA Cup West Group A game at Mortgage Matchup Center.
Shooting 4-7 from 3, Gillespie has added five rebounds and three assists as the Suns (9-6) have led by as many as 18 points.
“Beginning of the year, they were like, ‘you’re passing too much.'”
Collin Gillespie on Suns coaching staff as he’s averaging a career-high 10.5 points.
On future as he’s on a one-year deal (unrestricted free agent): “I would like to be here long-term. It’s 15 games into the… pic.twitter.com/YVAefBIqAq
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 21, 2025
Dillon Brooks has added 10 points while Devin Booker has six points on 2-of-8 shooting, eight assists and four turnovers.
Anthony Edwards leads the Timberwolves (10-5) with 16 points. Minnesota has zero fast break points to Phoenix’s 13 in transition.
The T-Wolves are 2-0 in NBA Cup group play while the Suns are 1-0.
Suns have challenge of facing Edwards
Phoenix will start Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, Ryan Dunn, Royce O’Neale and Mark Williams. The Suns are 1-1 with this starting lineup.
The Timberwolves are starting Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert. McDaniels has been upgraded from questionable to available.
The initial matchups are always intriguing, but with teams doing so much switching, it can change quickly. So those looking to see Brooks or Dunn guard Edwards, or McDaniels defend Booker, that how it may start, but teams set screens to get more favorable matchups.
So the bigger question is who will get targeted early on either team for those favorable matchups.
Then there’s the pick-and-roll defense and how Williams and Gobbert defend it. The Suns tend to like their bigs up on the screen while Gobert tends to camp in the paint.
One-on-one, Williams can score in the post and a little further out while Gobert usually gets his off dribble penetration from Minnesota’s perimeter players.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.