Game 3 of the series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Memphis Grizzlies will live on in infamy. The Wolves held a massive 26-point lead in the first half, only to squander it in the second quarter. They were able to get it back up to more than 25 points in the third quarter… only to collapse again, this time for good.
The result is one of the most embarrassing showings in Timberwolves' playoff history, as they were just the ninth team in history to blow a 25-point halftime lead. After the game, Patrick Beverley talked about their miscues during the game, saying that: (via Jon Krawcyznski)
“Twelve points second quarter, twelve point fourth quarter is unacceptable. We’ll look at the film. We’ll get better at that. We generated the shots we wanted. We defended well. They only had 104 points. So, it looked bad, but it doesn’t feel as bad as it really was.”
Beverley: "Twelve points second quarter, twelve point fourth quarter is unacceptable. We’ll look at the film. We’ll get better at that. We generated the shots we wanted. We defended well. They only had 104 points. So, it looked bad, but it doesn’t feel as bad as it really was."
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) April 22, 2022
The Timberwolves' streaky shooting and relative inexperience reared it's ugly head during the entire game. With most of the roster still being new to the playoff atmosphere, they struggled to close out the talented Grizzlies squad. Desmond Bane, in particular, lit up the Wolves for 26 points and many huge triples.
As Beverley said, the Timberwolves got the shots they wanted. It's a matter of them making those shots. Chris Finch needs to rally his troops harder after a demoralizing loss like this. If they aren't careful, they could get booted out of the postseason faster than you can say “choke.”
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