Timberwolves 96 vs 124 Grizzlies summary: stats and highlights | NBA Playoffs

The Memphis Grizzlies made up for a Game 1 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a convincing win to level up the series on Tuesday night. Ja Morant and his 29 points led the way for the Grizzlies in the last game at FedEx Forum before heading north.

Grizz get grimy

Memphis was called out after the first game when they were out muscled and out hustled by the Timberwolves. Desmond Bane called for physicality in Game 2 saying "Physicality is something that we felt like we addressed coming into the series, and I didn't think that it was there (Saturday), at least at the level it needed to be to win," Bane said. "We're going to have to get grimy out there to win a playoff series."

It’s doubtful that the first quarter was the kind of “grime” that Bane was looking for. A choppy start with 20 fouls called and 33 free throws took the flow out of first 12 minutes.

The Grizzlies were looking to run and gun, something they didn’t do much of in the opener, and the whistle filled first quarter didn’t permit them to do that either. There were 11 lead changes and seven ties in the opening quarter as the Grizzlies went into the second quarter up 33-32.

Towns foul trouble changed game

There was a much smoother flow to the second quarter, which worked to Memphis’ advantage. Karl-Anthony Towns picking up his third foul early in the second also swung the game in the Grizzlies favor.

Towns never really got going, after having to sit for a lengthy spell before halftime. He ended his night with 15, while Anthony Edwards followed his brilliant 36 point playoff debut on Saturday witha quite 20 points on Tuesday.  

 Ja Morant, started playing more of a distributing role go guys like Bane who had 12 points to lead all scorers at half, and Jaren Jackson Jr. who didn’t hit a three in all of Game 1 but finished 4/7 from deep and had 16 points in Game 2.

Morant takes over in third

They may have been questioned in the opener, but the Grizzlies showed that grime pulling down nine offensive rebounds to set then tone in the first half and head to halftime up 60-49.

Morant took over after the break as the Grizzlies stretch the lead out to as many as 27 in the third quarter. Morant scored a dozen points and was an assist and two rebounds away from a triple-double going into the fourth. He ended his night early as Taylor Jenkins had the luxury off pulling his starters early in the fourth quarter.

Morant ended the night with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists to carry the Grizzlies to the Game 2 win.

The series heads to Minnesota for the next two games. The Timberwolves will be happy to have stolen a game in Memphis, but will have to hold on to home court at the Target Center. Tip off for Game 3 is set for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Jackson making up for lost time after a cold shooting day in Game 1.

Jones with the pretty finger roll over the big boys down low.

Great ball movement leads to the open Tillman dunk.

Check out Ja's step back to create the open shot.

Ja dancing to the rack.

It's not often you see a great shot blocker who is a deadly three point shooter... Ladies and gents, Jaren Jackson Jr.

Bane on the step back to end the half with 12.

Tillman came flying in with the highlight of the night.

Jackson was 0/5 in the first game, but was 4/7 tonight with 16 points.

The Grizzlies went on a run after this Melton three, and the T'Wolves would not get closer than 7 from here on out.

Tillman had a huge night off the bench with 13 points, and the Grizz got 60 points from their bench tonight.

When Morant lowers his head, it's trouble for the defense.

Ja was a rebound away from a triple-double, and started the night on the distrubuting end.

Bane got the party started with the long ball. He was the game's leading scorer through the first half with 12.

It's all over from FedEx Forum!!! The series is headed to Minnesota level at 1-1 after holding the T'Wolver to under 100.

McLaughin gets a floater to go.

Palmer on the spin and the finish. It's a 32 point game from Memphis!!!

It's garbage time for the T'Wolves with 3:15 to go in the fourth. None of the starters are in to finish out the game.

Morant is heading to the bench, and it looks like his night with no triple-double, but as long as the Grizz tie up the series he won't mind.

Morant with another floater, and he's got 23 and is a rebound away from a triple double.

Jackson to the line, hits one of two.

Morant dishes out another assist and it's Clarke for the third straight possession!

Clarke gets back to back buckets.

Towns with the follow. Foul trouble has made him a non factor in this game.

Clarke with the bucket and one after some fantastic perimeter passing got the big man open. FT is good.

Jackson from downtown again!!! He's got 15 on 4/7 shooting from deep after going 0/5 in Game 1.

Nothing happening on the offensive end for MIN.

Jackson drops a three from the top of the key!

McDaniels from the FT line. That's his first basket of the game.

Melton in the corner for three!

12 minutes to go from the FedEx Forum.

The Grizzlies stretched the lead out to as many as 27 in the third quarter.

Clarke hits one of two FTs and that's how the third quarter ends.

Towns just picked up his fifth with 5 seconds left in the third.

Edwards with a spot up three, and he's got 20.

Jones with a nice spell, gets the finger roll to go.

Nowell absorbing the contact and finishing at the iron.

Jones at the line and he hits one of two.

Williams in the corner for three! The Grizzlies are holding off the T'wolves run.

Jones on the floater.

Towns with a jump hook from outside the lane.

Edwards starting to feel it. He hits a three and he's got 17

Edwards at the line hitting two FTs.

Edwards with a three ball and at the same time Ja hits the deck and is slow to get up.

Ja back at it, slashing to the rim and he's got 21 on the night.

Towns back to the line where most of his point have come tonight. He hits both FTs.

Clark with another easy dunk, and the MIN defense has shut off in the third quarter.

Russell with a three ball but coach Finch is called for a tech right after. Brooks hits the FT.

Everything working for the Grizzlies tonight and Tillman gets the easy slam after the hesitation move down low.

Williams gets the bucket and the foul off the inbound. That's another assist for Ja, who is inching closer to a triple double. He's got 19,8 and 9 assists

Beverley to the line, and he hits two of two.

Bane can do it from outside, or inside. This time he puts it on the deck and gets the lay up.

Morant draws an OHHHHHHHHHH for the crowd with the between the legs step back deep three to shake the defender off him. On the next possession drives in the paint hangs in the air and drops the floater. He's got 19,7 and 7

Beasley stops the bleeding with a floater down the lane.

Morant drops his first three of the night! He's got 14, and 5 early in the third quarter. Timeout MIN with 9:32 to go in the third.

Jackson with the three ball, and he's now got two of the night and two on the series.

Morant with some more of his all to common brilliance. Driving to the basket, and hanging in the air.

Russell starts the T'Wolves scoring much like he did in the first half.

Bane keeps it going with the first bucket of the second half. He's got 14.

We are back in play for the second half of action in Game 2 from Memphis.

The top scorer in the first half with the step back.

Tillman with the play of the first half.

Jackson with his first three ball of the series.

Edwards has been kept in check for most of the game, but not on this dunk in transition.

Tillman had big minutes off the bench after Adams got into foul trouble early.

Ja ended the first half with 6 assists including this one to Williams

Bane got his night started early on with a deep ball. He's one of the league's best shooters and has 12 on the night.

Russell threw up an early prayer and it was answered.

Bane leads all scorers with 12 points, while Ja has 9 pts and 6 assists already.

Naz Reid has 10 pts to lead the T'Wolves while Towns and Edwards have 9 a piece

Memphis has 9 offensive rebounds after they were called out for a lack of physicality in Game 1.

After 20 fouls were called in the first quarter, the pace picked up with 8 fouls called in that second 12 minutes.

Beverley's tough finish rattles out as the time expires in the first half! MEM leads by 11 going into the second quarter!

Reid quiets the crowd down a bit with a three ball.

Brooks going strong to the basket!

Edwards gets it to go, but he's having to work for every basket he gets.

Bane gets the step back to drop with a foot on the line!

Jackson on the tip slam off the Brooks miss! 9th offensive rebound for the Grizzlies who have their largest lead!!

Bane at the line, hits both, and the Grizz have their largest lead of the night again.

Jackson on the step back three ball, and that's his first long ball of the series.

Reid open for three, open for buisness. Timeout Grizzlies with 5:54 to go in the second quarter.

Great play by Jackson to chase down the offensive rebound and bounce it off the defenders ankle to save possession.

Silly foul on Towns who extended his leg on his follow through of his three point shot. That's a cheap one to give up especially since it's his third.

JOnes responds with a three ball on the other end.

Prince with a three ball from the corner.

Edwards cutting down the lane with a rare bucket tonight, and as I'm typing this he gets a dunk off a MIN steal. He's got 7 on the night.

Melton on the three ball after Tillman extends the play with an offensive rebound. 9-0 run for MEM and they have their largest lead of the game. Timeout T'Wolves with 9:02 in the second quarter.

Offensive board for Memphis and Tillman gets the slam! Big minutes for Tillman who has 7 already.

Anderson gets the friendly roll, Grizzlies starting the quarter strong with Ja on the bench.

Tillman on the pick and roll, but Prince responds with a circus shot, second one we have seen from them tonight.

Morant has 9 pts and 4 assists after that first quarter. Towns has 9 pts, and is 5-6 from the line.

There were a combined 20 fouls in the first quarter, and 33 FTs shot.

McLaughin with the buzzer beater and the first quarter finally ends after a stop and start opener. 11 lead changes and 7 ties in the the first 12 minutes.

Reid hits both free throws after yet another foul. Will get you all the foul stats in the first quarter once the buzzer sounds.

Tillman with the slam and one off of Morant's fourth assist of the night. FT is good to complete the three point play.

Reid with the FTs and the 7 point lead is quickly cut down to 2.

There's Edwards finally hitting his first bucket after missing his first three FGs. That ends a 9-0 MEM run.

Jones with the floater and the lead is up to 7.

Ja hits one of two FTs, but the Grizz get the offensive rebound and Williams is fouled on the three ball. He gets all three to drop, and MEM has their largest lead tonight.

Timeout Minnesota with 3:10 in the first quarter!

Clarke makes one of two FTs.

Now the offense is getting rolling. Five straight possessions with scores on each end.

Towns gets two more FTs, and Morant drives right down the lane on the other end with the finish.

Williams with the alley oop off the dish from Morant! He had two FGs in Game 1, and both came on alley oops.

Towns back at the FT line hitting both, and the story of this first quarter has been fouls. Already a flagrent, an unsportmanlike, and 14 fouls total.

Towns clearing the paint with that big body and finishes with an easy slam.

This is a very choppy game. The refs might be a little whistle happy to start this game. Bane with three ball and the Griz lead again.

Russell back at the line and he gets both to drop.

Brooks drives down the right side and the Grizz have the first lead of their night.

Towns hits one of two FTs out of the timeout.

Timeout Grizzlies in a slow moving quarter. 7:57 to go in the first quarter and we are all tied up.

There's Morant's first highlight as he works a give and go down the middle of the paint and finishes with a double clutch lay up.

Russell launches up a prayer hoping for a whistle, he got know whistle but the three ball drops.

Towns just picked up his second foul and that's trouble for the T'Wolves. He is staying in the game at the moment.

We are 2:57 into this game, and the Grizzlies are already in the bonus after Morant's foul on Beverley. Bev hits both FTs.

Adams is called for a flagrent foul after the "open hand slap" so MIN will get two shots and the ball. Vanderbilt makes one of two FTs.

We are less than three minutes into the game and we already have our second review. Adams got a piece of Vanderbilt on the rebound attempt. This stop and start opening to the game is hurting the Grizzlies by taking the fans out of the game.

Edwards' first shot of the night is off. How will he follow up a sensational playoff debut in Game 1?

Long two ball for Bane, and he's got the first three points of the game for Memphis.

After picking up the tech, Beverley goes to the rack and gets the lay up to go.

So it's an unsportsmanlike foul resulting in a technical. Bane hits the techincal FT.

Morant just took a big shot from Beverley who swiped at Morant after the contact had been made on a body check from Towns. They will look at Beverley's swipe. It looks clean, even though it was after the whistle. Morant went to ground clapping, urging on the crowd.

We are underway from the FedEx Forum!!!! Russell gets to the line for the and hits one of two FTs for the opening point of the game.

The Grizzlies Starting five that will come out strong looking to even up the series.

Minnesota hold season series

The Timberwolves lead the season series 3-2, and have won the last two matchups. Game 1 was no fluke, the Grizzlies haven't struggled against many teams this year, but Minnesota has given them fits all year.

T’Wolves star watch:

Anthony Edwards was the headliner in Game 1 with 36 points, but Minnesota have a tremendous trio with Edwards. Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. Towns leads the T’Wolves with 24.6 ppg, Edwards is getting 21.3 ppg and Russell is posting 18.1 ppg.

Memphis star watch:

The Grizzlies got a big night from Ja Morant in Game 1, but his 32 points and 8 assists weren’t enough. He is averaging 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists on the season, and was in the MVP hunt for the majority of the season until missing the last two weeks of the season due to injury.

Who will rest favor most?

The Memphis Grizzlies enjoyed a few extra days of rest while the Timberwolves were playing in the opening game of the Play-In Tournament. Minnesota has had time to rest those legs which may come as a charm for the team who is in the playoffs for just the second time in 18 years. They had a sprint to the finish line at the end of the regular season trying to avoid the Play-In games, meanwhile the Grizzlies had control of the second seed well in advance. Game 1 was Saturday, and both teams are coming in with over 72 hours rest.

There's an upset alert in Memphis as the Grizzlies look to fend of a 2-0 deficit. Here is all the information on how and where to watch tonight's game thanks to our Reem Abdalazem

The T'Wolves coming into tonight rocking a 1-0 lead and showing off the drip coming into the FedEx Forum. Can the 7 seed go back home up two games over one of the top teams in the West?

Ja is in the building looking to build on his 32 point Game 1 perfromance. Remember this will be his first game back from a knee injury that kept him out the last couple weeks of the regular season.

Tonight's Odds

According to Bet365.com the Grizzlies are 6.5 point favorites, and the Over/Under is set at 240.5. I think the Grizzlies come out hot and bury the Timberwolves early. Minnesota has done their job of getting a win on the road, I think if the game gets out of hand, they set their sights on defending their home court.

Bane: Grizz have to get grimy

Memphis guard Desmond Bane called his side to action after the Grizzlies were out rebounded 46-35 in Game 1. "Physicality is something that we felt like we addressed coming into the series, and I didn't think that it was there (Saturday), at least at the level it needed to be to win," Bane said. "We're going to have to get grimy out there to win a playoff series."

Edwards speaks after first playoff game

It looked easy for Anthony Edwards in his playoff debut, and his analysis made it sound easy.  “Just taking what the defense gives me," Edwards said. "If they give me the right hand, go right. If they give me the left hand, go left. If they give me the catch-and-shoot, shoot it. Whatever they're giving me, I'm trying to take it. I feel like I've been doing a great job with that,”

Edwards speaks after first playoff game

It looked easy for Anthony Edwards in his playoff debut, and his analysis made it sound easy.  “Just taking what the defense gives me," Edwards said. "If they give me the right hand, go right. If they give me the left hand, go left. If they give me the catch-and-shoot, shoot it. Whatever they're giving me, I'm trying to take it. I feel like I've been doing a great job with that,”

Grizz give up Game 1

Minnesota started the series red hot with a 41 point first quarter, but the Grizzlies responded early in the second to take the lead. The home side couldn’t build more than a two point game in the brief moments they did have the lead. The second half was played on a razors edge, but Anthony Edwards led the T’Wolves to victory with his 36 points in his first playoff game.

We are live from Memphis

Hello everyone and welcome to FedEx Forum where the series hangs in the balance for the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are the second seed in the West but were outclassed by the seven seed Timberwolves in the opener, and will try to avoid hitting the road with an 0-2 deficit tonight.

Timberwolves vs. Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies will look to bounce from a Game 1 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday afternoon. AS English will be with you all night with coverage, stats, scores and analysis of tonight’s Game 2 from Memphis, Tennessee