After a 56-26 loss in the regular season, the second-place team in the West, the Grizzlies sat at home, and the first round of the playoffs ushered in the challenge of the seventh-ranked Timberwolves in the West.
In terms of the Grizzlies, Morant is poised to go, and the team has home advantage in this game, and the Grizzlies are also ready to win the playoffs in front of home fans.
On the other hand, the Timberwolves, Towns + Russell + Edwards are in the sky, this battle the Timberwolves are also threatening, trying to win the first victory on the road!
However, after 4 quarters of competition, with a strong start of 11-4, the Timberwolves, who were mainly anti-away, overpowered the Grizzlies in the first half and occupied the initiative on the court.
Although after returning from the second half, Morant + Dillon Brooks felt hot in the third quarter, leading the Grizzlies all the way to the score, preserving the suspense of the game.
But in the final finale, Towns scored 5 consecutive points, and Beverly + McDaniels + Beasley hit three consecutive points to help the Timberwolves establish a 13-point lead and seal the victory in one fell swoop.
The Timberwolves, who finally got off the ground, also won 130-117 on the road to the Grizzlies, which was worth the trip, and at the same time, it was also a 1-0 first in the playoffs!
In this game away from home, the Timberwolves generals did not mess up, but played 6 people to score in double figures, and the team performance of all the soldiers won a 13-point victory.
In the case of russell + Beverley + McDaniels and other main players, continuing to perform steadily, the two main players Downs + Edwards, and the play of Beasley on the bench, is particularly critical!
Towns was very efficient in this game, starting 41 minutes, shooting 2 three-pointers on 11-of-18 shooting, and delivering a double-double of 29 points, 13 rebounds + 3 assists + 1 block.
Among them, his heroic performance of scoring 12 points in the first quarter of the first quarter not only helped the Timberwolves open the situation smoothly, but also laid a solid foundation for the team to win a big victory!
In addition, as the team's young main attacker, Edwards' play in this game also played a crucial role.
Edwards fired four three-pointers on 12-of-23 shooting, a game-high 36 points, plus 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.
Not only did it make a difference on the offensive end, providing the Timberwolves with powerful firepower, but also on the defensive end, it repeatedly interfered with the Grizzlies' offensive rhythm and deployment, and successfully affected the trend of the game!
More importantly, this game scored 36 points, and the 20-year-old Edwards also set a number of personal records, which can be said to have strongly cashed in his talent and potential on the playoff stage!
Of course, the Timberwolves were able to beat the Grizzlies in this game, and Beasley's performance on the bench was also a great achievement.
In this game, Beasley was appointed on the verge of danger, came off the bench for 28 minutes, shot 8 from 14 and hit 4 three-pointers in the middle of the line, contributing 23 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
And his key play in the final quarter, riding alone to score 8 points, is almost single-handed, completely ending the Grizzlies' attempt to fight back!
On the other hand, on the Grizzlies' side, the team was completely suppressed at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends of this game, and finally suffered a 13-point defeat, and the performance of the game that was 0-1 behind was obviously difficult for the home fans to accept.
After all, in the case of Morant playing well, winning 32+4+8+1 in the whole game, dillon Brooks + Bain performing their duties, the team's performance in the game of 27 three-pointers on the outside and the performance of the game that was suspended by Towns on the inside line was indeed somewhat unsatisfactory!
Obviously, for the Grizzlies, who are 0-1 behind in the playoffs, how to improve the outside three-point projection and how to solve the problem of attacking and defending the inside line in the next G2 game will also become the key to this round of the series!