By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Minnesota Timberwolves needed a huge fourth-quarter rally to fend off the banged-up Memphis Grizzlies squad, 118-103, in the ongoing NBA regular season last January 19, 2024.
After trailing in the first three quarters, the Timberwolves banked on their momentum-clinching fourth-quarter outburst after outscoring the Grizzlies, 37-17.
Anthony Edwards became the catalyst in the win that extended their victory streak after turning it up in the second half.
After only dropping two points in the first two quarters, the superstar shooting guard went unconscious from the field and scored 26 points in the second half.
Edwards kicked off his stellar offensive output in the third quarter after scoring 14 big points built from his unstoppable drives to the basket.
Mike Conley, Minnesota’s glue guy and veteran leader, picked up where Edwards started in the final frame after putting up eight quick points that spearheaded the Timberwolves’ 11-0 run to clinch a 96-89 advantage.
From that wild sequence, Memphis failed to recover and could only watch the no. 1 team in the Western Conference pummel them on both ends of the floor.
Edwards top-scored Minnesota with 28 points, five rebounds, and five assists while Conley contributed a double-double performance of 17 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
Meanwhile, defensive anchor Rudy Gobert continued his consistent outing for the Timberwolves and ended up with 17 markers, 10 rebounds, six blocks, and four assists.
Despite a quiet night from Karl Anthony-Towns, Naz Reid, Minnesota’s backup center, made up for his dismal shooting and chipped in 20 points, three rebounds, two steals, an assist, and a block.
With the huge win, the Timberwolves maintained its place as the no. 1 squad in the Western Conference with a win-loss record of 30-11 while Memphis dropped to 15 wins and 26 losses.
