Suns' firepower can't overcome 'details' in playoff sweep - ESPN

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns began the season with championship aspirations, buoyed by the collective offensive firepower of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal — the latest iteration of an NBA superteam led by an ultra-talented big three.

But the team could never quite stay healthy, could never quite find a rhythm and never did appear as potent a threat as the Suns hoped to be.

On Sunday, their underwhelming campaign concluded in disappointing fashion, as the Suns were swept out of the first round on their home floor by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who closed out the first-round series with a 122-116 win at Footprint Center.

«Roster-wise, everybody talks about the firepower, but you look around the league: It comes down to the details,» said Booker, who finished with a game-high 49 points. «I don't want to keep saying that, but it's a super important thing. You can't just go out there and think you're going to win off talent. The game is more complicated than that.»

The Suns were minus-51 when Booker, Durant and Beal shared the floor in this series, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That is the worst plus-minus for any trio this postseason.

The Suns beat the Timberwolves in all three regular-season matchups but were swept in a best-of-seven series for the first time since the 1989 Western Conference finals.

«It's disappointing,» Suns coach Frank Vogel said. «There's no other way to put it. There's no worse professional feeling in the world than getting swept in the NBA playoffs. I've never been a part of it. I feel pretty low right now. I want to speak to our fans directly and say, I share your passion. I'm as disappointed as y'all are. I share that with you all. But we got beat by a better team this year.

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