They lost 26 points in the second quarter and 25 in the third, but the Memphis Grizzlies, in a fascinating survival lesson, took victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday to achieve the 2-1 in the series after a totally crazy match (95-104).
with a devastating partial of 12-37 in the last quarterthe Grizzlies left Wolves speechless who had run over them for most of the night but melted in the end.
The numbers of the Wolves in that fourth quarter were to burst into tears: 3 of 19 shooting1 of 11 in triples and 5 rebounds for 19 of his rivals.
Thus, the Grizzlies regained home court advantage and dealt a serious moral blow to some Wolves who will have a lot of work in the locker room to digest a very painful defeat.
Desmond Bane (26 points, with 7 triples, and 6 rebounds), Brandon Clarke (20 points and 8 rebounds) and And Morant (16 points and 10 assists) were instrumental in the Grizzlies’ incredible comeback, which they left Steven Adams on the bench for his trouble defending Karl-Anthony Towns.
D’Angelo Russell (22 points and 8 assists) and Anthony Edwards (19 points and 7 assists) were the best of some Wolves in which Karl-Anthony Towns was very unwise (8 points and 5 rebounds).
The Wolves overwhelm
With an overwhelming physical display, aggressiveness in all matches and a voracious appetite for each ball, the Wolves, infected by the great atmosphere in their stadium, silenced the Grizzlies in a great start with a 12-0 run.
Those from Memphis, stunned and unable to react, took more than three minutes to get their first points.
The abysmal difference in energy and intensity between the two teams was best exemplified by Beverley, tireless in defensive effort.
So, the statistics of first quarter (39-21) they were resounding.
The Wolves scored 18 points in the paint, made 13 of 24 shots, dominated the rebound (16-9), D’Angelo Russell had 12 points and the Grizzlies were left with a dismal 29.2% shooting from the field.
If the Grizzlies expected a truce in the second quarter, they took a good slap with an 8-0 which marked the biggest difference on the scoreboard (47-21 with 10.28 for the break).
Perhaps the biggest sin of these young Wolves is their lack of consistency and tonight they made the same mistake again.
With an inexcusable bad end to the second quarter (0-15 after three triples by Bane), the Wolves went to the locker room with a minimal difference (51-44) for what had been the first half and the Grizzlies found, despite two very poor quarters, that they had the game within reach.
In any case, the options of the visitors went through recovering as soon as possible a Ja Morant missing (5 points with 2 of 7 shooting).
The playoff table as of 04/22/2022
Eastern Conference:
(1) Miami 2-0 Atlanta (8)
(4) Philadelphia 3-0 Toronto (5)
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(3) Milwaukee 1-1 Chicago (6)
(2) Boston 2-0 Brooklyn (7)
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Western Conference:
(1) Phoenix 1-1 New Orelans (8)
(4) Dallas 2-1 Utah (5)
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(3) Golden State 3-0 Denver (6)
Memphis 2-1 Minnesota (7)
impressive comeback
In a carbon copy of the start of the game, another terrific start by the Wolves left the Grizzlies shivering.
With a run of 17-4 in six minutes, the Minnesotans once again boasted great defensive pressure (4 losses from the Grizzlies in that stretch) and had Russell and Edwards at the head of the stampede.
The Grizzlies’ strong second-quarter finish appeared to have been a mirage as the Wolves they got +25 in the third quarter.
In any case, the Grizzlies, with little signs of inspiration from Morant, came to the end with a thread of life (83-67).
Amazingly, the Memphis guys made the most of those green shoots.
With a tremendous 16-0 startwhich inexplicably the Wolves did not stop with a timeout, the Grizzlies equalized the duel finally exhibiting their offensive power with Bane and Morant.
Again showing signs of innocence and lack of skill to preserve a huge advantage, the Wolves saw Towns go to the bench with his fifth foul and how Jones gave the Grizzlies their first lead of the game (85-86 with 7:09 to go).
Totally overwhelmed and lost on the court, the Wolves lowered their heads against some euphoric Grizzlies and in which Clarke was instrumental in signing an impressive comeback.
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