Takeaways: Timberwolves fall apart in final minute and lose to Suns, 114-113

The Timberwolves had the game seemingly wrapped up — ahead by eight with 50 seconds left to play.

But a comedy of errors and missed free throws caused them to lose to the Suns 114-113.

Collin Gillespie hit the winning shot for Phoenix with 6.4 seconds to play, and Julius Randle missed a potential winning three for the Wolves.

With the loss, the Wolves (10-6) remain winless against teams above .500 this season. The Wolves fell to 2-1 in NBA Cup play and will need a win over Oklahoma City on Wednesday to have a chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.

“We lost our minds. Poor execution. Turnovers obviously and didn’t stay locked in for the last 90 seconds,” Wolves coach Chris Finch told reporters in Phoenix.

Timberwolves-Suns box score

Phoenix (10-6) made its last-second push without Devin Booker, who had fouled out (16 points).

The Wolves had led by as many as nine in the fourth before Phoenix came back to take a 102-100 lead. But Booker picked up his sixth foul battling for a rebound with Rudy Gobert and got a technical on his way out of the game.

Donte DiVincenzo hit the free throw and then buried a three for a 104-102 Wolves lead. Edwards then hit three free throws after he was fouled taking a shot from deep, and the Wolves got some key hustle plays from Julius Randle to keep multiple offensive possessions alive as they took control late.

The Wolves seemed to have the game in hand before allowing Phoenix back in it with multiple turnovers in the backcourt. There was Edwards’ misfire on an inbound pass. Then Julius Randle also had a turnover in the backcourt that led to a Goodwin layup and a one-point Wolves lead with 21.4 seconds remaining.

Randle had another turnover on the next possession before Dillon Brooks bailed him out by committing an offensive foul once Phoenix regained the ball.

Edwards stepped to the free-throw line, with 12.7 seconds remaining and the Wolves ahead 113-112, but he missed both, allowing Gillespie (20 points) to win it as Booker and Brooks watched from the bench.

Finch also didn’t re-insert one of his best perimeter defenders, Jaylen Clark, after Phoenix called a timeout to set up the winning shot.

The Wolves were just 23-for-33 from the foul line for the evening. Randle 6-for-9, 2-for-4 in the fourth. Edwards was 8-for-12, 4-for-7 in the fourth.

Edwards drilled a step-back three from the right wing with 8:12 to play in the third quarter. He made the shot over frequent nemesis Brooks. As Phoenix called timeout, Edwards turned around and yelled at Brooks as he walked back to the Suns huddle. Facing Brooks seemed to be the fix Edwards needed to get back on track after a tough homestand — before he fell apart in the final minute.

Edwards had 19 points in the third quarter on 7-for-9 shooting. He hit 3-for-4 from three-point range and got to the rim as well with a couple of nice sequences.

His scoring outburst put the Wolves ahead 82-81 after three. They had been down as many as 18. Edwards also had three rebounds, a steal and a block in the quarter.

The Suns also dominated the Wolves in transition in the first half with a 13-0 edge in fast-break points.

In the first half, Phoenix shot 56% as the Wolves defense was a step slow in the half court. They let Gillespie get loose for 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting. They did a good job on Booker in terms of his scoring, but Booker did dish out eight assists in the first half. Edwards and Randle were 9-for-20 in the first half; the rest of the team was 10-for-29. They shot 39%.