Memphis Grizzlies surge late to down Minnesota Timberwolves 90-86: NBA Recap
The Memphis Grizzlies produced a strong fourth quarter display to outgun the Minnesota Timberwolves 90 – 86 on Wednesday night at the Target centre. The game was a topsy-turvy affair, but in the end Memphis showed their mettle
to walk away with an away win.
Memphis head coach Lionel Hollins praised his side’s resolve in the last quarter after the game and pointed towards it as the reason for their success.
"We had the lead at halftime and they came out with a lot of energy and we played tired. . . . But we rose up in the fourth quarter, we made a lot of big stops, got rebounds, and steals. . . We had some guys running on fumes tonight
and we just kept battling and hung in there."
With star power forward Zach Randolph not available, the Grizzlies found a surprise weapon in the form of defensive specialist guard Tony Allen. Allen scored a team high 20 points and Rudy g*y added 19 to lead the Grizzlies. Memphis
also got contributions worth 12 and 14 points from Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo respectively.
"It's a great sign," Conley said about the all round display from Memphis in the absence of a star player. "It's very promising when you lose a guy like Zach and have guys step up."
Meanwhile Minnesota head coach Rick Adelman blamed the defeat on the casual attitude of his young roster.
"They were way too lax in their approach," coach Rick Adelman said. "I told them, `You haven't won anything. Don't come out there thinking you just won the championship."'
Kevin Love produced the goods for Minnesota once again, 27 points and 14 rebounds in a double-double effort. Also on the double was point guard Ricky Rubio, who came off the bench for 12 points and 10 assists. Luke Ridnour added
13 points while Michael Beasley had 11.
Memphis raced out of the blocks with an 8 – 0 start to the game that was soon turned into a resounding 20 – 5 advantage; Minnesota struggling to deal with the aggressive onrush. They did however recover to put together a 9 – 0
streak that ended the quarter at 20 – 14 to the Grizzlies.
There was a 12 – 3 blitz by Memphis in the second quarter that restored their double digit advantage, although not for long. Minnesota responded with an 11 – 2 surge and by the time the sides headed into the break the gap was back
to six points at 43 – 37.
Minnesota started the second half on fire with a 9 – 2 run that delighted the home support and put them ahead for the first time in the game. The lead would change hands 4 more times before the period ended with the T-Wolves just
ahead, 59 – 57.
The final quarter promised to be a thriller but the Timberwolves lost their way when Memphis burned them for a 13 – 0 run that ended with the away side on top at 76 – 68. Minnesota would come to life again though and reduced the
lead to a single point on more than one occasion. They were though unable to surpass Memphis and the clock ran out with the Grizzlies winning 90 – 86.
Tags: