Grizzlies overcome 26-point deficit, take 2-1 lead over Wolves
Desmond Bane made seven 3-pointers and had 26 points, and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a 26-point deficit to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-95 on Thursday night for a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
"We found a way to get some stops. Our offense started clicking a little bit more," Bane said, "and the rest is history."
Brandon Clarke scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half for Memphis, and Ja Morant had a quiet triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Tyus Jones hit two dagger 3-pointers against his former team down the stretch, and the Grizzlies seized back home-court advantage. They stunned a Wolves team that won Game 1 on the road 130-117, but took an ugly 124-96 loss in Game 2.
Game 4 is on Saturday night in Minneapolis.
D'Angelo Russell had 22 points and eight assists as the key driver of a third-quarter surge for the Wolves that pushed the lead back to 23 points, but he went 0-for-3 and was scoreless in the fourth. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota's other max-contract player, had another clunker with eight points.
"When we get too high, it comes back and it haunts us," said Russell.
In this compelling matchup of Western Conference rivals with similar temperaments, fast-paced offenses, and young star guards in Morant and Anthony Edwards, yet another game swung wildly back and forth between the two sides before the Grizzlies flashed their moxie for the largest comeback playoff victory in franchise history.
"That’s why we’re really the deepest team in the league," said Morant.
After taking a 47-21 lead early in the second quarter with a deafening roar in the 32-year-old downtown arena as the soundtrack, the Wolves were outscored 15-0 over the final 5:45 of the second quarter by a Grizzlies team that's been grappling with the same postseason inexperience and emotional immaturity resulting in bad shot selection and foolish, avoidable fouls.
After the NBA's highest-scoring team made only 30 field goals in Game 2 to match a season low, the Wolves hit only 33 in Game 3. They went 8:34 of game time between the second and third quarters without a basket until Russell swished a 3.
"It’s really tough. We’ve got to regroup," said Towns, who had five blocks.
Jones, who grew up in the Twin Cities and was drafted by the Timberwolves the same year as Towns, hit a 3-pointer to give the Grizzlies their first lead at 86-85. Memphis never trailed again.
"You think of and dream of those moments," said Jones, who won a state championship at Target Center for Apple Valley High School in 2013.
Reporting by Associated Press.
