Those who might have been worried about the Timberwolves playing their way out of contention for a No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft can sleep peacefully Wednesday night.
Minnesota's latest defeat -- its sixth in the past seven outings -- keeps the Wolves (14-49) firmly in the running for the league's worst record with Philadelphia (14-50) and New York (12-51). The NBA Draft Lottery is May 19, and while Minnesota's never moved up, it has a great chance at landing a top-three pick when the ping-pong balls are drawn.
All because of too many nights like Wednesday, when the Wolves started slow against an evenly matched team and suffered from malperformance and injury throughout. The Suns (34-32) took advantage in front of 17,367 fans at Talking Stick Resort Arena, keeping their own faint playoff hopes alive.
1 big moment: After Minnesota took a 57-56 lead on a pair of Gorgui Dieng free throws with 7:51 left in the third quarter, Phoenix ended the frame on a 22-12 run capped by three straight Markieff Morris shots. That gave the Suns a 78-69 lead heading into the fourth, and the Wolves got no closer than within six points of tying the rest of the way.
2 top performers: New Wolves big man Justin Hamilton led a well-rounded bench effort with 15 points, three rebounds and two blocks in his second game since being claimed off waivers last week. Morris had 24 points and three boards to lead the Suns.
3 key stats: Minnesota crashed the glass with vigor but little ultimate avail, pulling down 12 offensive rebounds but turning them into just 10 second-chance points. Phoenix, meanwhile, scored 27 second-chance points off 16 offensive boards.
For the third time this season, the Wolves made just one 3-pointer. That came from Hamilton as Minnesota finished 1 for 13 from beyond the arc. The Suns held a 45-34 rebounding advantage -- the 13th time this season the Wolves have been out-boarded by double digits.
Said: "When we traded for him and I talked to him, his No. 1 thing he said, 'I know we're not going to the playoffs.' He says, 'Hey, I'll sit out games, but I'm not going to sit out practices, because I can really have an influence in practice . . . whether I'm on the black team or white team.' We're doing what we talked about doing when we traded for him." -- Wolves coach and president Flip Saunders on resting Kevin Garnett, who sat out for a second game in a row
Seen: After he exchanged words with Saunders following some instruction early in the third quarter, the coach benched rookie power forward Adreian Payne for more than 7 minutes. Hamilton came in and scored eight points while Payne paid his penance on the sideline. Drafted 15th overall and traded to Minnesota by Atlanta, Payne finished the game with 10 points and three rebounds.
Injury report: Starting center Nikola Pekovic played just 7 minutes, 52 seconds and sat out the second half with a sore right ankle -- the same ailment that's hampered him since last season and kept him out of 32 games this campaign. Garnett rested for the second game in a row, and forwards Shabazz Muhammad (ruptured finger ligament, done for the year), Robbie Hummel (broken hand) and Anthony Bennett (sprained ankle) all remained sidelined.
Next: Now halfway through a four-game road swing, the Wolves play Friday at Oklahoma City and Sunday at San Antonio before returning home Monday against the Nets.
Follow Phil Ervin on Twitter
