The Grizzlies’ gun Ja Morant shattered the victory dream of the Minnesota Timberwolves in a thriller Game 5 on Tuesday. The Memphis Grizzlies went on to take the lead in the best-of-seven series after some edge-of-seat moments. Now, the Grizzlies are just a win away from reaching the semi-finals of the Western Conference.
The impressive last-minute play secured the history of the Memphis Grizzlies just seconds before the buzzer went off. Moran was named the most improved player of the year and took the leaderboard with 30 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, and three steals. Desmond Bane followed closely with 25 points scored for the Memphis Grizzlies.
The young Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves enabled the last-minute dunk by going for the steal from Dillon Brooks. The miss was more than just a personal loss as it gave the space needed for Ja Morant. Although the young wolf’s play was impressive in the first three quarters, the inexperience peeped up towards the end, costing them the match.
Surprisingly, things are not going well for the Grizzlies as well. Their star players seem to struggle with free throws and fouls. Ja Morant, who saved the match with his last-minute gig, missed six free throws in the match, not to mention the previous ten misses in the series. Sports commentators are doubtful about Jackson’s appearance in the finals as he made 8.3 fouls every 36 minutes.
And what is more, many became skeptical about the Grizzlies as they thought the offense would receive blows after the postseason downsizing. On the contrary, the Grizzly’s offense shined brighter even after losing the likes of Steven Adams to Bench. Brandon Clarke, who brought the best of both worlds, kept the offense and defense robust throughout the game. At the end of the game, while the Timberwolves had six offensive rebounds, Clarke alone had nine in his pockets.
After this phenomenal performance, Game 5 became the second game where the Grizzlies overcame a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. The team has become the first in the history of the NBA to pull off this feat twice in the same series. With several records broken, the Grizzlies will march to the next with high morale and with more confidence. This might impact the NBA betting industry to a huge extent.
This recent victory puts the Grizzlies just a win away from securing their place in the semi-finals. Fortunately, the odds show that the team that won Game 5 with a 2-2 tie went on to win the series 82.8% of the time.
The best-of-seven turns back to Minnesota on April 29. While Grizzlies root for a ticket to the semi-finals in Game 6, the Timberwolves will fight to stay in the game.
