On April 17, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs began, and the Timberwolves defeated the Grizzlies 130-117 away from home, rewriting the total score to 1-0! Edwards, who played in the playoffs for the first time in his career, scored 36 points, and Towns also contributed 29 points and 13 rebounds. The Timberwolves led by up to 13 points, and the gap between the two sides narrowed in the final quarter, and the Timberwolves withstood the pressure and finally won! Morant had 32 points and eight assists, and Jackson Jr. set a career-high seven blocks.
Statistics
Timberwolves: Edwards 36 points and 6 assists, Towns 29 points, 13 rebounds, Beasley 23 points, Beverley 10 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, McDaniels 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks, Russell 10 points and 8 assists
Grizzlies: Morant 32 points and 8 assists, Brooks 24 points, Bain 17 points, Jackson Jr. 12 points and 7 blocks, Clark 13 points and 12 rebounds
Star of the Field: Edwards
In the first playoff game of his career, Edwards played well, scoring a 30+ performance, becoming the fourth youngest Mr. 30+ in NBA playoff history.
Game tidbits
In the first half, a female fan tied herself to a basketball rack and the security guards and staff eventually carried him out of the court!
Highlight moments
Morant directly killed the inside line, two hands slammed!
Towns hit Adams and hit 2+1!
Edwards clasped his hands!
Williams fast attack completes the air dunk!
Morant and Jackson Jr. joined forces to defend and let Vanderbilt miss the dunk!
Downs Partition Little Jackson!
In the last quarter, Morant flew into a two-handed clasp!
Game review
In the first quarter, Russell scored with a dunk, Edwards scored five points in a row, Towns hit a backhand layup and the Timberwolves made a 9-2 start. Jackson Jr. and Morant sent dunks in quick succession, and Towns hit three-pointers. Beverly scored five straight points, Towns scored 2+1 and the Timberwolves went on an 11-2 run to stretch the gap to 13 points. Brooks scored from the middle, Edwards completed a dunk, Morant scored six straight points, and Bane and Beasley scored three points. In the first quarter, the Timberwolves led the Grizzlies 41-33, with Edwards 13 points, Towns 12 points and Morant 15 points.
In the second quarter, Beasley and Jones scored three points against each other, and Edwards scored 2+1. Williams received a dunk in the air, Bane hit a layup, and the Grizzlies went on a 10-0 run to overtake the Timberwolves. McDaniels hit a three-pointer, Prince scored on a layup, Edwards scored a 2+1, Beasley scored a basket and the Timberwolves returned with a 10-0 run! Morant scored with a dunk, Downs scored 2+1, Beasley hit a three-pointer and Clark scored a layup. At halftime, the Timberwolves led the Grizzlies 65-62. In the first half, The Timberwolves' Edwards had 19 points, Towns had 15 points and eight rebounds, Beasley had 13 points, the Grizzlies' Morant had 19 points and five assists, and Brooks had 10 points.
Easy side fight again, Towns, Brooks three points each other, Jackson Jr. dunked, Edwards three-point shot, Vanderbilt dunked, Bane three-point shot, Jackson Jr. played 2+1. Edwards scored 5 points in a row, Towns clipped Jackson Jr., and Jackson Jr. was blown. McDaniels scored from the middle and the Timberwolves led by five points. Brooks hit two three-pointers in a row, and Edwards and Towns scored in quick succession. At the end of the third quarter, the Timberwolves led the Grizzlies 97-92.
In the final quarter, Anderson scored 2+1, and Towns also responded with 2+1. Bain hit a three-pointer, Towns dunked and Beasley hit a three-pointer. Jones scored on a layup. Russell hit a three-pointer, McDaniels made a layup and the Timberwolves stretched the gap to nine points. Morant scored with a dunk, Edwards hit a three-pointer, Clark scored four points in a row, Beverly and McDaniels hit three-pointers, Morant hit two consecutive free throws, Russell made two free throws and two shots, and the Grizzlies were powerless to return to the sky. In the end, the Timberwolves beat the Grizzlies on the road to lead 1-0 on aggregate!
Both sides started
Timberwolves: Beverly, Russell, Edwards, Vanderbilt, Downs
Grizzlies: Morant, Bain, Brooks, Jackson Jr., Adams