Grizzlies clinch after Wolves collapse again

The Memphis Grizzlies upset the Minnesota Timberwolves with another late fourth-quarter rally to win the NBA playoff series 114-106 on Friday. Desmond Bane scored 23 points.

Bane made nine of 15 shots from the field, including a game-winning three-pointer late in the fourth quarter, as the second seeds won the series 4-2 in front of a sold-out Target Center crowd.

Minnesota suffered yet another heartbreaking defeat, as they failed to finish off a victory after building a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter for the third time in the series.

Minnesota had pulled ahead 84-74 at the end of the third quarter, but the Grizzlies blew them out down the line, outscoring the Timberwolves 40-22 in the fourth session to snare a thrilling victory.

Memphis took their first lead of the second half on a three-pointer by Bane, and Jarvis Jackson Jr. added 12 points in the fourth to help the Grizzlies over the finish line.

Memphis standout Ja Morant had been held to only four points in the first half by the Minnesota defence, but he finished with 17 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds.

The Grizzlies will play the resurgent Golden State Warriors in a thrilling Western Conference semi-final series beginning on Sunday.

“It’s big-time for us man, super excited,” Morant said afterwards.

“We got it done. It was ugly but we battled through, battled back and got the win. We got the four wins, but we’ve got to be better in the next round -– we can’t come out again like we did in this series.”

Morant said the Grizzlies’ ability to overturn a hefty fourth-quarter deficit once again was testimony to the resilience of his team.

“We’ve got a lot of dogs on this team, guys who want to prove stuff, and have got a chip on their shoulder,” Morant said.

“We’ve got that never-satisfied mindset and we know that the game’s not over until the clock is showing all zeroes at the end of the fourth.

“We just stick together, battle back and we were able to come out with some big-time wins.

“We’ll enjoy this moment in the locker room tonight and then we’ll flip the page and start getting ready for Golden State.”

Bane said the latest in a series of Memphis Houdini acts was too close for comfort.

“I don’t want to be in that hole, I promise you,” Bane said. “We don’t mind it but we’d like to start games a little bit better.

“Our resiliency really showed in this series. I think pretty much every game we won we were trailing at some point. It’s a gritty group.”

Bane’s 23 points were matched by Dillon Brooks, who had 23, and Jackson Jr. had 18.

Morant and Brandon Clarke both scored 17 points, while Tyus Jones added 10 points off the bench.

Anthony Edwards scored 30 points for Minnesota, while Karl-Anthony Towns got 18 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.

Off the bench, Jaden McDaniels scored 24 points.

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