Wolves sink Grizzlies

The absence of two starters, Desmond Bane and Steven Adams, was perhaps too much for Memphis. Still, we didn’t recognize the coaching of Taylor Jenkins, who dominated Minnesota’s intensity at the Target Center.

D’Angelo Russell led his team to a perfect start (18-10) with 8 quick points, including two baskets from behind the arc. When Memphis got back to -1, they restarted the machine to let the locals stay the course after 12 minutes (38-31).

It was the trio of Novel-Knight-Reed who brought their stones into the building off the bench and brought their enthusiasm and scoring prowess to create the first significant difference (51-40). Even though it was difficult, Ja Morant’s teammates stayed in the game at halftime (62-53).

The Grizzlies’ pride was expected to explode when they returned to the locker room, but instead we were treated to the “Anthony Edwards show” as he struggled with a sore right wrist in the first half and went 13 to 5. 7 shots in the first 9 minutes of the third quarter (87-70).

This time it looked like the road was gone, but Memphis finally regained hope by going on a 7-0 run to end the period (87-77). The pressure went up a notch when Ja Morant punished Jaylen Nowell’s bad pass with a dazzling counterattack (89-81).

But Minnesota held on and found the string thanks to Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson, who authored many key finishes or passing moves that resulted in spectacular transitions between the winger and his pivot. An attack that Memphis didn’t resist, they quickly found themselves at -16 with five minutes left to eventually lose 111-100. This is the Grizzlies’ 5th straight loss.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– By the power of the wrist. Anthony Edwards, who touched his wrist fairly quickly, still scored 13 points in the first half, but we saw him move slower with his wrist rather than in motion. Fortunately, in the second part, we find the real Ant-Man, completely free and still on his game. Within 9 minutes, he showed his talent, this transition allowed the locals to continue their course against the opposition as usual. tough opponent. 25 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists in his arrival, more fear than damage in summary!

– Is Memphis going elsewhere? If we haven’t gotten to know the Grizzlies much, it’s because of the recent news that has rocked the United States, and specifically the city of Memphis, following the release of video of the new police brutality that led to the death of Tyre Nichols. after being lynched by five city policemen. Taylor Jenkins spoke before the game to offer a message of peace and support to the family of Tyre Nichols. Obviously not the best contexts to play an NBA game.

TOPS/FLOPS

✅ Russell-Edwards-Anderson trio. Everyone had their moments in this game, from D’Angelo Russell early in the game, Anthony Edwards with a big pass in the third quarter and Kyle Anderson with an apotheosis finish.

⛔️ Rudy Gobert. We saw the ghost of Rudy Gobert through three quarters until he awoke in a final drive worth hanging around for, activity on both ends of the floor, a big dunk, a crowd-pleasing “reverse” alley-oop and a spectacular blind pass for a dunk by Jaden McDaniels.

⛔️ Morant-Jackson duet. Logically, we expected more from the Grizzlies’ 1-5 reading in this context. For Ja Morant, the situation is checked almost every time: When Memphis is in trouble, he tends to force it and therefore loses the ball. Memphis usually loses when they lose more than five turnovers in a game, and they lost six tonight. Jaren Jackson Jr. meanwhile, he struggled to get into his match and only kept his head above water a few times.

NEXT

Minnesota (26-25) : The Wolves continue tonight by hosting Sacramento (2 p.m.).

Memphis (31-18) : The Grizzlies host Indiana this Sunday (midnight).