PHOENIX — Mike Conley whipped a pass from the top of the floor down to a wide open Naz Reid, who was standing under the hoop.

The second he let the ball go, Conley started running down the floor and screaming. That was the moment in which this series officially ended.

Reid flushed home the dunk to put Minnesota up 22 points in the third. Suns coach Frank Vogel called timeout and a chorus of boos from the Phoenix faithful echoed through the arena.

Game. Set. Series.

Minnesota blew Phoenix’s doors off for the third consecutive game, again pulling away in the third quarter for a 126-109 victory to put Minnesota up 3-0 in the series.

The Timberwolves will now have four chances to secure the fourth-and-final victory they need to clinch their first playoff series victory since 2004. The first of those will come Sunday in Phoenix. That will likely be all it takes.

The Wolves have destroyed the Suns’ souls. Every game to this point has played out in the exact same manner, no matter the time nor location: The first half is largely competitive as Phoenix fights tooth and nail to go toe to toe with the more physical, lengthy, youthful Wolves.

And then the Suns reach a point where they simply cannot do it any longer, and the dam breaks. The Wolves have repeatedly worn Phoenix out.

They’ve done so with relentless effort and execution. Defensively, Minnesota’s physicality is too much. Offensively, Minnesota has Phoenix in constantly rotation, so the Suns are chasing the play. Even when that doesn’t result in a Wolves’ bucket, they usually beat the then exhausted Suns to the 50-50 ball and score from there.

Minnesota had nine offensive rebounds Friday that resulted in 14 second-chance points.

Anthony Edwards grabbed a couple of those, just one element of his impressive performance Friday. The guard continued to distribute the way he has all series, but he also found opportunities to deliver his own scoring punches.

For the game, the 22-year-old finished with 36 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Minnesota got into foul trouble in the first quarter, as Mike Conley, Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert quickly accumulated two fouls a piece as Phoenix came out of the gates with an offensive aggression not previously seen in the series.

The result was 15 free-throw attempts in the first quarter alone in what was the Suns’ most impressive offensive quarter of the series.

But Minnesota not only stemmed the tide, but actually led by two after the first 12 minutes. Because the Timberwolves’ offense was equally good. The Wolves scored 34 points in the first, including 12 from Edwards and 10 from Karl-Anthony Towns.

Towns tallied 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 14 boards.

Six Minnesota players scored in double figures, including Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who tallied 16 points, 12 of which came in the third on the strength of four triples to effectively close out the contest, and the series.

Minnesota out-scored Phoenix 36-20 in the third quarter.

BRIEFLY

Suns guard Grayson Allen missed the game with the right ankle sprain he re-injured in Game 2. Kyle Anderson played for the first time since suffering a hip pointer injury in Game 1. He logged eight minutes, finishing with two points, two assists and three rebounds.

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