On April 20, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA playoffs continued. In today's Western Focus game, the Grizzlies hosted a second game against the Timberwolves at home, and due to the home loss in the first game, today's game is very critical for the Grizzlies.
Morant played badly in last game and today he was in shape from the start of the game. He quickly fouled the opponent and made two free throws on the free throw line, and then Morant hit the basket in a row, including one of the goals, Morant jumped up and faced Downs' defense, staged a wonderful aerial pull, and then dashed a layup hit. In this quarter, Morant also assisted his teammates with multiple dunks. In the first quarter, Morant played a full 12 minutes, scoring 9 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists on 3-of-6 shooting.
In the second quarter, Morant rested more off the field. After returning to the court, Morant made only one shot and did not hit, but still picked up three rebounds and assisted his teammates twice.
After the start of the third quarter, Morant once again showed his super personal ability. He hit the basket first, then hit a three-pointer from the back, and in the next round, Morant hit another three-point shot at the top of the arc, and one of them scored eight points in two minutes to lead the team to 20 points. In the second half of the quarter, Morant continued to pound the basket and caused the Timberwolves Towns to play four fouls. In this quarter, Morant had 12 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists on 5-of-7 shooting, leading the team to a lead of 19 points.
Interestingly, after a heads-up down to Downs' layup, Morant made Durant's signature taunt, suspected of mocking Downs for being too short.
However, before the end of this section, there was a heart-wrenching scene on the field. In one defensive round, Morant was pushed to the side of his thigh and then fell to the ground. Morant then limped back to the bench. When the camera is given to the Grizzlies bench, it is obvious that Morant's thighs are covered with thick ice packs to relieve the pain.
In the final quarter, Morant returned to the midfield, where he quickly grabbed a defensive rebound and assisted clark with a dunk. Morant then hit another mid-range shot, but due to the large point difference, Morant was quickly replaced, and only one rebound left to get a triple-double.
In the end, the Grizzlies beat the Timberwolves at home to make the series total score 1-1! Morant played 30 minutes today, shooting 9-of-16, including 2-of-4 from three-point range and 3-of-4 from the free throw line, totaling 23 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists and 1 steal, plus-minus +24 topped the team!
According to the schedule, the third round of the two teams will meet on April 22, when the Grizzlies will take on the Timberwolves on the road.