On April 30, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA playoffs continued. In a Western Conference focus game today, the Grizzlies played the Timberwolves on the road. Ahead of this game, the Grizzlies led the Timberwolves 3-2 and would advance to the Western Conference Semifinals if they win today.
Morant was in terrible shape when the first quarter began, quickly missing a mid-range shot before Morant's outside shot was deflected off again. What's even more outrageous is that Morant then caused a foul to stand on the free throw line, and he actually lost two free throws! In the second half of the section, Morant still has no feel. What's more heartfelt is that on the defensive end, Morant has been singled by Edwards consecutively, and before the end of the quarter, Morant's last attack was blocked by Edwards head-on!
After entering the second quarter, Morant was still in poor shape, and it was not until 3 minutes and 17 seconds before the end of the first half that Morant broke the scoring drought with a free throw, and then he hit a layup. Throughout the first half, Morant had four points, two rebounds and five assists on just 1-of-6 shooting, and the Grizzlies trailed the Timberwolves 49-52.
After the start of the third quarter, Morant was still in no form. He hit the basket twice, but both three-point shots were deflected. At the same time, Morant's mistakes began to occur frequently, and they caused ten points in a row. In one of the rounds, Morant made a mistake in the shot under the basket, and the Timberwolves counter-attacked and Beverley hit a three-pointer. In another round, Morant was snatched by the Timberwolves after another pass error, and the Timberwolves' consecutive passing was finally dunked by Mike Daniels. While Morant scored seven points this quarter, the Grizzlies trailed the Timberwolves 74-84 to end the first three quarters.
In the final quarter, perhaps realizing that he didn't feel good, Morant gave consecutive assists to Mike Daniels and Jones. In the final moments of the game, Morant tried to take over the game, but he was blocked by Downs in a row! At 2:25 before the end of the game, Morant grabbed a key offensive rebound and finally hit a layup, followed by an assist Jones hitting a three-pointer to give the Grizzlies a four-point lead. In the 20.7 seconds before the finale, Morant hit two key free throws to give the Grizzlies a six-point lead and a win.
In the end, the Grizzlies defeated the Timberwolves 114:106 to eliminate their opponents 4-2 to advance to the semifinals. Morant played a total of 38 minutes today, shooting only 4 of 14, including 0 of 5 from three-point range and 9 of 12 from the free throw line, with a total of 17 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists, and 5 turnovers! But in the final moments of the game, Morant contributed key layups and key assists, as well as key two free throws, which also made up for the previous poor performance of the whole game.
After eliminating the Timberwolves, Morant and the Grizzlies will play against the Warriors in the semifinals.