Suns look to beat T-Wolves twice in two weeks

The Phoenix Suns are a freight train at full speed and the Minnesota Timberwolves are laying on the tracks.

The Suns (19-21), 5-1 since the All-Star break, will host the T-Wolves (21-21) at US Airways Center Monday. Phoenix has won two straight against good opponents in the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies, while the T-Wolves have lost consecutive games to the Los Angeles Lakers and Western-Conference-worst New Orleans Hornets.

Phoenix played Minnesota to start the second half of the season and won by nine. This time around, the T-Wolves are down a man, after Ricky Rubio is out with a season ending injury. Rubio tore his ACL Friday against the Lakers, and may miss the start of next season.

Jared Dudley has come on strong for the Suns as of late. Dudley only had 12 points and seven boards in the March 1st game against Minnesota, but has scored 14 or more since, including 19 in the win over Memphis Saturday.

Suns forward Hakim Warrick has contributed lately by picking up the slack left by slumping rookie Markieff Morris. Warrick scored nine against Dallas in 17 minutes, and five in 15 minutes against Memphis. The Syracuse product has a knack for getting to the line and knocking down free throws, going 7-10 and 3-4 from the stripe in his limited time on the floor.

Phoenix’s bigs will have their hands full Monday with All-Star forward Kevin Love and his partner in the frontcourt, Nikola Pekovic. Love has been on a tear, averaging over 35 points and almost 15 rebounds in his last four games. The four-year pro had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the last game against the Suns, which was sub-par for him. Pekovic has played well after missing two games due to injury. He has averaged 23 and 12 in the two games since returning to the lineup.

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