The Memphis Grizzlies and the Minnesota Timberwolves duke it out in a pivotal Game 3 at the Target Center on Thursday night.
The Memphis Grizzlies will be looking to take the lead for the first time in the series after squaring it up with a 124-96 win in Game 2 on Tuesday. Ja Morant led the team with 23 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane each scored 16 points while Brandon Clarke and Ziaire Williams each scored 13 points. As a team, the Grizzlies shot 47 percent from the field and 11 of 34 from the 3-point line as they took control of the contest in the second quarter where they held the Timberwolves to just 17 points to take an 11-point lead into halftime, before they ran away with it in the second half where the lead blew out to 32 points.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves would’ve been full of confidence after stunning the Grizzlies in the series opener, but they will be eager to bounce back here after getting thrashed in Game 2. Anthony Edwards led the team in scoring with 20 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 15 points with 11 rebounds and two blocks while Taurean Prince and Naz Reid each scored 12 points. As a team, the Timberwolves shot just 39 percent from the field and 11 of 38 from the 3-point line as they struggled to get going and were always fighting an uphill battle after scoring just 17 points in the second quarter. D’Angelo Russell struggled once again as he scored just 11 points on three of 11 shooting, Patrick Beverley scored just six points on one of six shooting while Jaden McDaniels scored just two points on one of seven shooting off the bench.
Looking at the betting trends, the Grizzlies are 2-6-1 ATS in their last nine road games, 1-3-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 34-16-1 ATS in their last 51 games overall. The Timberwolves are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games, 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record and 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall.
Head to head, the under is 15-7 in the last 22 meetings in Minnesota, the Grizzlies are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings in Minnesota and the Grizzlies are 16-5 ATS in the last 21 meetings overall.
The Grizzlies needed to respond after getting routed in the series opener and they did just that with a dominant win in Game 2 to square up the series. The Timberwolves will be so disappointed with how they got blown out in Game 2, but the bottom line is that they were able to steal home-court advantage, so they should be happy that they were able to get the split going back home. The Timberwolves will surely get more out of Edwards and Towns this time and the role players always step up at home, but the Grizzlies are 16-5 ATS in the last 21 meetings overall and I’m expecting that trend to continue as the Grizzlies get the win and cover again.
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
