MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Grizzlies responded to losing their first game as a No. 2 seed by getting back to how they play.
The result? The largest margin of victory in franchise history in a playoff game and a near triple-double by Ja Morant.
The All-Star point guard scored 23 points, handed out 10 assists and grabbed nine rebounds as the Grizzlies looked much more like the team that posted the NBA’s second-best record, routing the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-96 on Tuesday night to even up their first-round Western Conference series at 1 apiece.
Morant went to the bench with 4:40 left to a huge ovation and teammates telling him how close he was to a triple-double.
“It was good to get that win,” Morant said. “Obviously, you know, if you get a triple-double, it’s hard to do it in this league, so that’s special as well. But the win is the important thing, and we got that.”
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said Morant showed great balance along with the bench outscoring Minnesota 60-43 and defense fueling the offense.
Ja MorantNBAE via Getty Images
“This is our recipe …,” Jenkins said. “This is the more the style that we got to play.”
Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. each added 16 with Jackson hitting 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Seven Grizzlies finished in double figures with Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Ziaire Williams each having 13. Tyus Jones added 10.
Game 3 is Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Anthony Edwards, who scored 36 points in his playoff debut in Game 1, led Minnesota with 20. All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Naz Reid and Taurean Prince had 12 each off the bench, and D’Angelo Russell added 11.
“It shows just how physical and locked in you’ve got to be every single night regardless of the opponent,” Towns said. “A small lapse, mental, and you see what the game comes out to be in the playoffs.”
The Timberwolves…