The Minnesota Timberwolves came into Tuesday night looking to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series with the Memphis Grizzlies. But where the Timberwolves dominated in Game 1, the Grizzlies made up for it in Game 2, handing Minnesota a 124-96 defeat to even the series.
While the Timberwolves charged out of the gate in Game 1, Game 2 had a much different tone.
Patrick Beverley was called for a technical foul in the opening minute of the game after shoving the ball into Ja Morant’s face. Steven Adams picked up two quick fouls including a flagrant foul two minutes later.
Although Minnesota was in the bonus three minutes into the game, Karl-Anthony Towns picked up his second foul at the 8:54 mark of the first quarter.
The Timberwolves were able to make due even with Towns in foul trouble. But they didn’t have the same offensive firepower that they had in Game 1.
Minnesota came out of the first quarter down 33-32 but Towns picked up his third foul on a charge with 7:08 to go in the second quarter. Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell also struggled in the first half, shooting a combined 2-for-8 from 3-point range.
With Towns on the bench, Memphis outrebounded the Timberwolves 9-1 on the offensive glass in the first 24 minutes and went into the half with a 60-49 lead.
Things got worse in the second half as Memphis opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run. With the Grizzlies’ lead swelling to 24 points, the Timberwolves got ice cold from the field.
How bad did it get?
In Game 1, the Timberwolves shot 50 percent from the floor and 39 percent from beyond the arc. In Game 2, Memphis limited Minnesota to 38 percent from the floor and 28 percent on 3-point attempts.
The night was especially unkind for the Timberwolves’ stars. After combining for 65 points in Game 1, Towns and Edwards combined for 35 on Tuesday night.
With Russell finishing the game shooting 3-for-11, they didn’t have the offense to get back into the game even with Ja Morant missing a good chunk of the third quarter after taking a knee to the thigh.
The good news for the Timberwolves is that they head back to Minneapolis with the series tied at 1-1. They’ll look to regain the lead when they host the Grizzlies for Game 3 on Thursday night.
