MEMFIS – After Ja Morant’s winning streak fell by one second in the 111-109 loss to the Timberwolves in Game 5, soft coach Chris Finch did not link the loss of his team to the defense of this game.
He did not attribute this to the inconsistent late performance of the Wolves within half of the court in violation, which led to another victory for the return of Memphis in this series despite Wolves’ lead of 13 points in the fourth quarter.
“Honestly, it had nothing to do with it,” Finch said. “They had like, I don’t know, how many offensive fights in the fourth?”
The media told Finch that Brandon Clark had seven offensive battles for the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter.
“Clark was only seven?” Said Finch. “This is the game. They were 18 [offensive rebounds] for the game. They had 12 points for a second chance in the fourth quarter. That was it. This is the game.”
Once again, the wolves were left to collect the pieces from a game they played for most of the night, a game they had to win, and a game they have no one to blame but themselves for losing. They are now behind the top seven of the seven playoffs in the first round of the Western Conference, three against two.
Careless play penetrated the night. The Grizzlies and the Wolves combined 39 turns, with the Wolves making 23. Memphis shot 67% of the free throw line and 25% of the distance for three points.
Game 5 would be won not by the team that did the most to win it, but by the team that did the least to lose it. The Wolves defeated Memphis there.
“Their players …
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