Randolph sizzles as the Grizzlies thump the Timberwolves 102-84
After a tough outing against the mighty Dwight Howard in his last match, Zach Randolph came face to face with another rebounding sensation on Wednesday night; Kevin Love.
Rudy g*y rediscovered his form after a wretched dry spell in the last two games. The dynamic forward chipped in with 22 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 102-84 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday
night. Sam Young had 18 points while Marc Gasol finished with 13 as Memphis won their fourth straight game.
The rub of the green finally went Randolph’s way, as he overcame a sluggish night against the Orlando Magic with a match-winning one against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Randolph, himself one of the league’s best rebounders and post scorers, finished the
night with 23 points and 13 boards. To back his offensive brilliance, the forward also played a crucial role in hounding Love throughout the night, limiting him to only 10 points and 10 boards.
Without Kevin Love flowing freely, the listless Wolves who are reeling at the bottom of the Western Conference, never stood a chance. In fact, some of the play by the home team was so calamitous it verged on being comedic. The Wolves were thrashed by the
Grizzlies in every facet of play possible. They were out-shot, out-rebounded, out-defended, and thoroughly out-played by the resurgent Grizzlies who have now won six of their last seven games.
Apart from the opening five minutes of the game, the Grizzlies never allowed Minnesota to take the lead. Memphis accounted for 12 steals and also took advantage of 17 Minnesota turnovers, by converting them into 26 points. The real highlight for the visitors
though, was the fact that they thoroughly dominated the best rebounding team in the league, and cleaned them 47-38 on the glass.
The only period where the Minnesota Timberwolves had some sort of a momentum was the first five minutes of play. The Grizzlies though never lagged behind by more than three in that phase. By the time they got into their groove, the result was never in doubt.
The Grizzlies warmed up with a vociferous 10-0 spurt midway through the first quarter and then dominated the game throughout.
The Grizzlies finished the first 12 minutes with a 26-20 advantage. They then outscored their opponents 14-8 down the middle part of the second stretch to take a 10-point lead for the first time in the match. Randolph finished the first half with a tip shot,
as the teams headed into the locker room with the score at 49-41.
Zach Randolph finished the first half with eight points and six rebounds. However, more importantly he kept Kevin Love under check, limiting him to just two points and four boards at the other end.
"The ball didn't seem to find me tonight," Love said after the match. "I couldn't tell you what it was. I never got into a rhythm.”
The Grizzlies, who always looked dangerous in the first half, finally unleashed in the third quarter. They outscored the team from the twin cities 30-16 in that period to finally pull away for good. They were never threatened after that as they romped to
an easy win.
Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins beautifully put the night into perspective post-match.
"We played pretty strong defence, we forced them into 17 turnovers and scored 27 points off those turnovers with 12 steals. I was worried with the lead we had at half time. We came out and started trading buckets with them but got two or three steals, then
we got a stop with a rebound and got running to a 20-21 point lead. From that point on we just maintained."
Tags: