Ja Morant is fired up after he passes to Brandon Clarke for a lay-in. (0:19)
The Memphis Grizzlies rebounded from their home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first game of their first-round series with a resounding victory on Tuesday night.
The team that finished the season with the second-best record in the NBA spent the previous 72 hours stewing over their Game 1 debacle. The coach had characterized the team as "pissed" and "angry", and power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. had complained about playing "s---ty".
After the second game of the series, the Grizzlies will not need to be self-critical. They scored 60 points in the paint and only 34 for Minnesota in their game. Ja Morant was the point guard who led the incursion into the interior. He scored or assisted on 15 of the 30 field goals in the paint, and had a game-high 23 points.
Morant said he balanced well on looking for his shots and making the extra pass.
The team didn't execute its defensive game plan against the All-Star guard, despite the fact that limiting Morant's impact near the basket was a point of emphasis for Minnesota.
It wasn't supposed to be that way.
Morant took a knee to his left thigh in the third quarter while fighting over a screen from Towns. He went to the training room to get help for his injured ankle, but came back to play in the fourth quarter to help Memphis win the game.
Morant said he was good. I played on concrete.
Jackson picked up two fouls in the first quarter and only scored 1 point in the period, as it appeared as if he would endure another rough effort. The power forward settled in, draining four buckets from beyond thearc and playing a key role in the strong defensive game.
The sixth-ranked defense returned to form Tuesday after being torched for 130 points in the first game. The star was kept off-balance by the defensive shifts. Towns was countered by a cast of big men that disrupted his flow in the first game of the series. He was in foul trouble for most of the game.
It is possible to limit things that a guy like to do and live with the result.
If it wasn't for early foul trouble for Steven Adams, he might not have seen any minutes. The reserve scored 13 points and defended Towns for several possessions.
Kyle Anderson started the third quarter in the starting lineup. His versatile defense in 18 minutes of action was critical, as was the bouncy big man and the anchor, Jackson. The NBA's fastest-paced team was locked down by the Memphis transition defense, giving up 11 transition opportunities and 11 fast-break points.
The series moves to Minneapolis for the first two games of the playoffs, where the Wolves will have the chance to advance to the second round for the first time since 2004.
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