To find the pressure and dramaturgy of matches 7 in the play-offs, we will have to wait for the second round. Memphis won Thursday night in Minnesota (114-106) to eliminate the Timberwolves in six games and complete the table of the semi-finals of the Conference. The Grizzlies, the second-best NBA team in the regular season, will find Golden State with Game 1 on Sunday in Tennessee (7:30 p.m. in France).
No series from the first round therefore stretched to Game 7 but Wolves did not go far. For the third time in six games, Minnesota had a lead of more than ten points at the start of the fourth quarter. And for the third time, the team of Chris Finch collapsed offering victory to the Grizzlies.
Clarke at Adams’ relay
After a double pass from Anthony Edwards for Wolves (84-72, 35th), Memphis regained control of the match. Brandon Clarke (17 points, 11 rebounds) perfectly compensated for the absence of Steven Adams (Covid protocol). In the wake of the Canadian interior, the Grizzlies grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, often crucial. Desmond Bane thus recovered his own missed shot from behind the arc to find the target on his second attempt and equalize (94-94, 42nd).
« I’ve been rehearsing all year how deep our rotation is and it showed on this series. There were big performances from a lot of players “, reacted Ja Morant on his Twitter account. Thursday evening, it was Tyus Jones who came to illustrate the words of his teammate. Launched late in the game following Dillon Brooks’ sixth foul, the substitute point guard proved decisive. The former Duke player at the university level planted an award-winning shot at the possession buzzer to give Memphis two possessions ahead (102-106, 47th).
Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards tried to play the heroes to respond to the collective game of Memphis. Without success. Two final free throws from Morant (17 points, 11 assists) closed the series. ” Physically, mentally, this series was a battle. Our wins were pretty lousy other than match 2 but we got the job done “, concluded the leader-star in a press conference.
