The Minnesota Timberwolves surrendered another double-digit lead on Friday night, paving the way to a 114-106 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 6 that ended their season.
The Timberwolves got off to a strong start with Anthony Edwards scoring 16 of his game-high 30 points in the first quarter. Although Edwards showed up, the Timberwolves’ other franchise stars had a rough night.
D’Angelo Russell has been absent for most of the series and continued his disappearing act on Friday night night, shooting 3-for-7 with seven points and four turnovers.
Karl-Anthony Towns also had a rough night despite putting up 18 points and 10 rebounds. Towns shot 6-of-19 from the floor and went 0-for-3 on 3-point attempts.
Despite the tough night from their stars, the Timberwolves went into the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead. As we’ve learned in this series, however, no lead is safe.
The Grizzlies began the final frame with a 6-0 run and battled with Minnesota down the stretch. With the Timberwolves up 99-98 with 3:03 to play, Desmond Bane hit a 3-pointer to give Memphis the lead and a layup by Ja Morant put the Grizzlies up by four.
Although Jaden McDaniels came through with a 3-pointer as part of a career-high 24 points, Tyus Jones delivered the dagger, knocking down a trey of his own to put the Grizzlies up 106-102 with 1:09 to go.
From there, Memphis’s dominance on the glass helped close the game out. The Grizzlies outrebounded Minnesota 56-37 on the night including 17-6 on the offensive glass. With the additional opportunities, Memphis punched their ticket to the Western Conference Semifinals and sent the Timberwolves home for the summer.
The Timberwolves were playing with house money throughout the series but the way it ended will leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.
Minnesota became the first team in NBA history to lose three games where they held double-digit leads in the fourth quarter and could have fans wondering what could have been.
