Memphis Grizzlies: 5 takeaways from huge Game 2 win over Timberwolves

No 4. Xavier Tillman Sr. bailed the Memphis Grizzlies out of trouble

Xavier Tillman, a reserve big man that saw his minutes dwindle throughout the regular season due to there not being enough minutes to go around. Tillman has been stuck behind Steven Adams, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke, and Kyle Anderson on the depth chart.

But once back-up Clarke got called for his second personal foul with 1:30 left in the first quarter, Head Coach Taylor Jenkins called Tillman’s number.

It seems unlikely that Tillman would have seen any court time in this game unless all of the post players were in foul trouble. The fact that he came into the game as a reserve player in a high-pressure situation with no notice is outstanding. He’s remained ready all this time.

Tillman finished with 7 points and 3 rebounds in first half and ended up with 13 and 7 by the time the final buzzer sounded. He did an outstanding job guarding Karl-Anthony Towns.

No 3. The Grizzlies found their three-point stroke in Game 2

Memphis did a much better job shooting and defending from beyond the arc in this game, after a disastrous shooting performance in Game 1.

In Game 1, the Grizzlies made just 7 of 27 three-point attempts, while surrendering 16 made three-point attempts (on 41 attempts) to Minnesota.

In Game 2, things were trending the same for Memphis. The Grizzlies shot just 4-16 in the first half from beyond the arc. But, they got it together in the second half, finishing 7-18 from three.

Perhaps more importantly, the held the Timberwolves to 11 of 38 from three in Game 2.