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Timberwolves-Suns Preview

Dec 13, 2015 - 4:43 PM The Minnesota Timberwolves can use youth as an explanation for their inconsistency. The Phoenix Suns are still trying to figure out the reason for their up-and-down play.

Both teams will try to shake off frustrating losses in their first meeting of the season Sunday.

Neither the Timberwolves nor the Suns are going particularly well right now, with Minnesota (9-13) having lost five of six and Phoenix (10-14) nine of 12 following an encouraging 7-5 start.

The Suns appeared to be back on track after beginning the week with close wins over Chicago and Orlando, but couldn't sustain the momentum in Friday's 106-96 home loss to Portland.

Playing its fourth game in six days, Phoenix was outscored 28-14 in the fourth quarter while going 4 of 15 from the field with six turnovers.

The Suns received 31 points from Eric Bledsoe but an off night from backcourt mate Brandon Knight, who missed all 12 of his shots and scored his lone point with 7:34 remaining.

''We were trying to get him to stay aggressive at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but he was just kind of dribbling around and not looking for the shot,'' coach Jeff Hornacek said.

Knight had 21 points in each of Phoenix's two previous victories and is averaging a career-high 20.5 while ranking in the top 10 in minutes played (36.0 per game).

The Timberwolves may be a bit weary as well after having their last two games go to overtime. After edging the Los Angeles Lakers 123-122 on Wednesday, they failed to hold on to an 18-point third-quarter lead in Friday's 111-108 loss at Denver.

''We couldn't get enough stops and gave up too many 3-pointers in the second half,'' coach Sam Mitchell said.

The Timberwolves' last four losses have been by six points or less. They're 5-10 in games decided by fewer than 10 points, hardly a surprising result for a team whose top three scorers (Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine) are all 20 years old.

Minnesota has been getting increased production lately from one of its veterans, as Kevin Martin followed a season-high 37 points against the Lakers with 22 on Friday. The 32-year-old had averaged 7.7 points on 28.3 percent shooting over his previous 12 outings.

Friday's loss began a stretch of five of seven on the road for Minnesota. The Timberwolves have dropped four of six as the visitor after a 4-0 start, while Phoenix has lost four of five at home after winning five of seven.

The Suns won both games with Minnesota in Phoenix and three of four overall last season. Markieff Morris averaged 20.5 points in the series but has been removed from the recent rotation amid rumors that the Suns are shopping the unhappy forward.

Towns, averaging 21.3 points on 61.7 percent shooting over his last four, will go head-to-head with Alex Len in an intriguing matchup of promising young centers. The 22-year-old Len, who has started Phoenix's last eight games in place of an injured Tyson Chandler, is averaging 15.0 points and 8.8 rebounds over a four-game stretch.