MINEAPOLIS – – Carl-Anthony Towns returned from two tough games with the best career playoffs 33 points and 14 rebounds, helping the Minnesota Timberwolves overcome their collapse in Game 3 and take a 119-118 victory over the Memphis Grizzly Saturday night to level the series from the first round at 2-2.
Anthony Edwards scored 24 points and reserve Jordan McLaughlin scored 4 to 4 from 3 points to 16 points, while the Timberwolves relentlessly attacked the basket and crossed 31 to 40 of the foul line.
The series moves back to Memphis for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Desmond Bane, who hit his eighth three-pointer in the buzzer to finish with 34 points, and Dylan Brooks with 24 points kept the Grizzlies in another calm evening for the star point guard Ja Morant. Morant made 4 against 13 from the floor and had 11 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds.
Jaren Jackson Jr. was eliminated with seven points, and 25 of Grizzlies’ 33 fouls were declared their starters.
Townes, who made four shots and scored just eight points in Game 3, hit 14 of 17 free throws and was the catalyst with 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Patrick Beverly missed two free throws 43 seconds to go. Leading the Wolves 115-110, Morant responded with a pass, and Edwards missed a 3-goal. He performed both free throws while the audience chanted: “Wolves at six! Wolves at six!
McLaughlin’s top three put Minnesota ahead in the second quarter to begin a 17-1 run that increased by a 50-35 lead – the biggest of the night, which was quickly reduced by the Grizzlies back to single digits.
The Wolves might have been better off playing a tighter game this time after their 25-point lead in Game 3 failed.
AMPED UP
Game 3 was an anomaly, given that the Timberwolves were only the ninth NBA team in 389 situations in the last 25 postseasons to lead by 25 points and lose the game, according to ESPN.
And while it fits right into the Minnesota sports scene, which has been filled with such disappointment for decades, the crowd has not given up on creating a noisy advantage on Saturday.
Troy Hudson and Wally Szczerbiak, who stood out in the last Timberwolves team to conquer the city in 2004, were on the court with an infinite number of good fives for fans sitting nearby.
When Townes struck 3 from the top of the key in the first possession, a roar of jet followed.
Townes knew how critical the game was and came out with a ferocity, which suggests he knows exactly how much criticism has been inflicted on him for the failures of Game 3. When he hit his starting 3, he looked down at his hands and didn’t yell at anyone specifically about the importance of you pass the ball.
BLOWS AND bruises
The bodies crashed to the floor in almost every possession in perhaps the most physical game in the series to date. Morant, who played through severe leg injuries, made several hard landings after attempts to lay.
Grizzlies reserve double Ziair Williams suffered an eye injury in the second quarter when Morant fouled D’Angelo Russell as he drove to the hoop and grabbed his face.
Edwards left for the first time in the first quarter with an injury to his right knee that was not related to any contact, but after having trouble walking to the locker room for further examination, he returned less than 3 minutes later without any problems.
PROTEST, TERMINATED
Two other animal rights protesters tried to stop the game in the third quarter. A woman jumped the seats to the court of Timberwolves owner Glenn Taylor and his wife Becky before being spotted by security and taken away. Her companion was left behind by the Taylor family and by the second row of Timberwolves assistant coaches who helped the guards fight her off.
The group is protesting against the way a chicken farm, part of Taylor’s business, has coped with the bird flu epidemic. The highly contagious virus has killed about 28 million poultry.
ADVICES
Grizzlies: Xavier Tillman started from the center, the fourth player in the Grizzlies series in the first half to join Jaren Jackson Jr. in the front zone, while coach Taylor Jenkins continued to use various methods to try to get Towns out of his element. Brandon Clark, Kyle Anderson, and Stephen Adams took turns. … Brooks, who was named controversial for playing with a sore left foot, shot 10 against 20.
Timberwolves: Beverly had 17 points. … Jared Vanderbilt had 12 points and eight rebounds.
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