Although the Timberwolves held a players' meeting and prepared for series G6, the results were still in vain. Today, the Grizzlies are still turning the tables in the fourth quarter, beating the Timberwolves 114-106 on the road to advance 4-2 on aggregate. Brandon Clark, who is known as one of the heroes of this round, also continued his outstanding performance.
Clark played 33 minutes off the bench and had 17 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks on 5-of-9 shooting, plus-minus +9. It is worth mentioning that he grabbed 5 offensive rebounds in the whole game, the most in the two teams, and even only one less than the Timberwolves' entire offensive rebounds (6). In the whole game, the Grizzlies had 11 more offensive rebounds than their opponents (17-6), but only three more shots. With the two teams shooting rates almost the same, without offensive rebounding protection, the Grizzlies will have a hard time laughing to the end.
This is only Clark's season 3 in the NBA and his second playoff appearance with the team. In the first round of last season, Clark played just two games, a total of only 9 minutes, and scored only 2 points on 1 of 2. But a year later, Clark progressed rapidly. In the first five games of the first round this year, his average playing time increased to 28.6 minutes, and he scored 16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists, shooting 70.2% from the field.
In the regular season, Clark was the Grizzlies' No. 6 scorer and No. 4 rebounder; in the playoffs, Clark's average score per game rose to No. 3 and rebounds to No. 2. Among players with an average of 20 minutes per game in the Grizzlies in the first round this year, Clark (70.2 percent) and Bain (61 percent) ranked in the top 2 in terms of effective shooting percentages. It should not be an exaggeration to say that the two of them are the top two contributors to the Grizzlies' ability to break through the first round for the first time since 2015.
Clark, 25, was born in Vancouver, Canada, on September 19, 1996. The year before he was born, the Grizzlies had just become a member of the NBA, and the team was originally stationed in Vancouver. In the darkness, Clark seems to have formed an indissoluble relationship with the Grizzlies.
Clark is a mixed-race child, his mother is Canadian and his father is Jamaican. At the age of 3, Clark immigrated to the United States under the leadership of both parents and settled in Phoenix. Today, Clark also holds dual citizenship in the United States and Canada.
In his early years, Clark attended The Vista Desert High School in Phoenix, where he quickly rose to prominence. In 2015, Clark led the team to the final of the Arizona High School League and was selected by the Arizona Republic as the best player in the state.
Clark then promised to join the San Jose State Congress. In his freshman year, Clark averaged 8.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and was voted the best sixth man in the Mountain West (MW) division by the Coaches Association, which seemed to set the stage for him to shine on the Grizzlies bench now. In his sophomore season, Clark averaged 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.6 blocks per game, and was named to the MW Division's Best Team and All-Defensive Team.
In the summer of 2017, Clark decided to transfer to Gonzaga University. After qualifying for Gonzaga University in 2018, Clark continued his performance. In the 2018-19 season, he played in 37 games, averaging 16.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, shooting 68.7%. Honors pour in. He became the first player in WCC history to win the Best Transfer Student and Best Defensive Player 2 awards in the same season and was named to the division's Best Team. He was also selected by Sporting News and The Associated Press for America's Best Three.
On March 23, 2019, Clark scored a career-high 36 points from the NCAA in Gonzaga's 83-71 win over Baylor University, with eight rebounds, three assists and five blocks. He broke the previous gonzaga University player scoring record in a single NCAA tournament held by Adam Morrison; in addition, he became the third player to score 35+ blocks and 5+ in the NCAA Tournament after O'Neill and David Robinson.
Clark then competed in the 2019 NBA Draft and was selected by the Thunder with the 21st pick in the first round before being sent to the Grizzlies half a month later. In that year's Summer League, Clark became a blockbuster, becoming the second foreign player in history to win the Summer League MVP. In the finals, Clarke had 15 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks to lead the Grizzlies to the championship and was again selected as MVP.
In the rookie season, Clark got plenty of opportunities. He played in 58 games, started four, averaged 22.4 minutes per game, had 12.1 points and 5.9 rebounds, and shot 61.8 percent from the field, making him the rookie of the year. As a result, Clark gained a foothold in the Grizzlies.
Since the second season of his career, Clark has been in the playoffs with the Grizzlies, and finally made a debut this year.
After today's promotion, Clark's performance was unanimously affirmed by the Grizzlies. Coach Jenkins praised Clark: "Without his contribution, we wouldn't have won this series, he gave us a lot of energy on the bench. ”
According to statistics, Clarke grabbed a total of 23 offensive rebounds in the first round of this year, ranking second, second only to Valanciunas (33). The US media also listed statistics, saying that like Clark, who did not start a game in a series, but scored at least 99 points and 54 rebounds, in the history of the NBA, only McHale, Roy Tapley and Millsap.
In fact, this is not the first time Clark has flashed in this round. In the Battle of King Mountain, Clark played 20+10, and 9 of the 15 rebounds had offensive rebounds. After the game, Clark said proudly that he had told Morant, Bane and Dillon Brooks during the game: "You shoot when you have the chance, anyway, the rebound has me." While Adams' tactical stature was slipping, Clark took his gun.
In a series known as the "Storm of Youth," Clark blew the fiercest hurricane. (Supine Braces/Hairy)