LAS VEGAS – The Timberwolves Summer League team has been a showcase for a top pick — only it has been Tyus Jones, not Kris Dunn.
Jones scored 29 points Sunday and the Wolves won their fourth consecutive game without Dunn, beating Phoenix 93-83 to advance to the NBA Summer League tournament finals.
Jones already has been named league MVP. He has averaged 19.4 points, 6.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals in seven games in Las Vegas.
The Wolves will play Chicago for the title Monday night. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. CDT.
Dunn, the No. 5 overall pick in this year's draft, has missed all four tournament games after suffering a concussion July 10. Sunday, the Wolves trailed 38-25 before pulling within five at halftime, then outscored the Suns 50-35 after the break. Jones helped hold Tyler Ulis to 5-for-21 shooting.
Minnesota lost all three of its games in the pool-play portion of the Summer League and entered the single-elimination tournament as the bottom seed among the 24 teams, which are made up of draft choices, players with mininal NBA experience and free-agent hopefuls.
Adreian Payne, hoping to stick with the Wolves as a reserve, added 18 points and 10 rebounds..
Jones led Duke to a national title in 2015. But the Apple Valley High School product wasn't dismissive of playing for a Summer League title.
"We want it bad," he said. "… We came this far, we're going to try to bring it all home."
The boxscore from the game is here.
STAFF REPORTS
