MINNEAPOLIS _ On Saturday night, against a Phoenix Suns team ravaged by injuries, one that limped into Target Center having lost five straight games and seven of eight, the Wolves led by 13 midway through the third quarter.
They led by 11 with 2:52 left in the third quarter. And then the roof caved in.
The Suns ended the third quarter on a 13-6 run to pull within four. And then they took over in the fourth on the way to a 108-106 victory over Minnesota.
Down five with 4:08 left, the Wolves rallied to take a 106-105 lead when Jimmy Butler tapped back his own miss with 1:07 left.
Phoenix missed a shot, then Butler missed. At the other end, it appeared the Wolves had forced the Suns into a shot-clock violation. But, instead, after review, it was deemed that Jeff Teague had fouled Isaiah Canaan on a 3-point attempt. Canaan made all three free throws with 6.1 seconds left to give the Suns a two-point lead.
Alex Len blocked Butler's shot with 1.7 seconds left. He then missed a last-second 3 at the buzzer.
The Suns got 69 of their points off the bench, with Dragan Bender and Troy Daniels each scoring 17 and Canaan scoring 15.
The Wolves were led by Karl-Anthony Towns (28 points, 11 rebounds) and Taj Gibson (18 and 10), who each had double-doubles. Teague had 17, Andrew Wiggins 13 and Butler 10.
The Suns won despite committing 27 turnovers _ the most by a Wolves opponent this season _ turnovers Minnesota turned into 29 points. But Phoenix outrebounded the Wolves 52-31.
When Daniels hit three free throws with 4:08 left the Suns had a 103-98 lead and things looked dire.
But out of a time out, Butler stole the ball and went in for a layup. At the other end Gibson rebounded Daniels' miss, leading to a Teague drive on the other end. After a shot clock violation by the Suns _ their 27th turnover of the night _ Teague fed Gibson for a dunk and a one-point Wolves lead with 1:22 left.
Out of a time out, Warren hit two free throws to put the Suns up one. At the other end Butler put-back his own miss with 1:07 left. Warren then missed a 4-footer with 50.3 seconds left before Butler missed with 27 seconds left.
For the first six minutes of the game the Suns looked like the gang that couldn't shoot or pass straight. Phoenix turned the ball over eight times in the first 6 minutes, and the Wolves turned those into 10 points in a hot start.
Up 9-6, the Wolves went on a 10-0 run, with Butler scoring the final four _ to take a 19-6 lead on Butler's steal and end-to-end fast break.
The rest of the quarter it was the Wolves who lost their shot, shooting just 2 for 10 the rest of the quarter, while the Suns fought their way back into the game. Down 10 late in the quarter, Phoenix ended the quarter on a 9-2 run to pull within 25-22 entering the second quarter. The Wolves led despite shooting 38.5 percent _ while Phoenix shot 56.3 _ thanks to the Suns' turnovers.
