The start of a three-game road trip didn’t go the way the Wolves anticipated.
On Tuesday night in Memphis, the Wolves fell 108-106 to the Grizzlies.
The Wolves had some tough luck at the end of the game. With 15.7 seconds left, Karl-Anthony Towns drilled two free throws to tie the game.
Clutch.
On the other end, Mike Conley was deep on a 3-pointer that was rebounded by Justin Holiday. With the ball seemingly being bobbled with 0.1 seconds left, Wolves rookie Josh Okogie was called for a loose-ball foul. With Memphis in the bonus, that resulted in two free throws. Holiday hit them both and that was that.
Tough call at a tough time.
This was supposed to be a three-game road stretch for the Wolves in which every game was winnable. Well, here we are and after game one, the Wolves are 0-1.
Injuries played a part in this game. The Grizzlies sat Marc Gasol prior to the game, and starter Kyle Anderson was already out due to injury. The Wolves, on the other hand, were without Jeff Teague (foot), Tyus Jones (ankle), Rob Covington (knee) and Derrick Rose (ankle).
With the loss, the Wolves fall to 25-28, two days before the trade deadline. The Grizzlies improve to 22-33.
Towns led the Wolves with 26 points and 18 rebounds, shooting 8-for-14 from the field and 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. Dario Saric was big off the bench, finishing with 22 points in 32 minutes off the bench. If not for Saric’s 16 points in the first half, this would have been a blowout. Luol Deng added 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench, shooting 8-for-10 from the field. Andrew Wiggins and Okogie finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
With Gasol out, Conley was solid, finishing with 25 points and nine rebounds. Rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. looked like the real deal, finishing with 23 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. It feels like he’s the next chapter to the Grit and Grind Era. Holiday rounded things out with 17 points, including more than a few tough shots down the stretch.
Next up for the Wolves is the Orlando Magic on Thursday night. Tipoff from Florida is set for 6 p.m. on Fox Sports North and 830 WCCO.