The Memphis Grizzlies got their groove back in Game 2 after a disastrous start to the 2022 NBA Playoffs in Game 1.
The Grizzlies, powered by a near triple-double from Ja Morant, balanced scoring and a huge helping hand from the bench, recorded their biggest playoff win in franchise history on April 19.
Memphis’ 124-96 win officially broke the team record for largest margin of victory in a playoff game (+28), according to Grizzlies PR.
Let’s get into some takeaways from the big Game 2 win, which ties the series at 1-1.
No 5. The referees were out of control in Q1 of Memphis Grizzlies Game 2
The NBA officiating crew called EVERY. SINGLE. ticky tack foul in the first quarter of the Grizzlies.
As a result, Steven Adams logged all of three minutes before he was benched for the rest of Game 2.
Jaren Jackson, Dillon Brooks, and Ja Morant joined Adams in being called for two fouls apiece in the first half. Brandon Clarke, who took over for Adams, finished the first half with three fouls. It was an extremely frustrating first quarter of basketball for Memphis.
All of the start-stop fouling caused the entire flow of the game to be disrupted. It wasn’t until a few minutes into the second quarter that the Grizzlies hit their stride and began to pull away from Minnesota after holding a 33-32 lead after one.
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.
No 2. Memphis Grizzlies reclaimed their dominance in the paint Game 2
The Grizzlies looked like their usual selves in the paint after having a total meltdown in the paint in Game 1.
Memphis was only +10 in the paint against Minnesota in Game one and got out-rebounded on the offensive glass 11 to 8.
In Game 2, Memphis smoked Minnesota in paint scoring by a margin of 60 to 34. They also waxed them on the offensive glass— one of Memphis’ strongest suits— 14 to 4.
No 1. Ja Morant was absolutely and unsurprisingly spectacular in Game 2
There was never any doubt that Ja Morant would enter this game with unparalleled focus and determination.
He went viral in the days before Game 2 after he posted an image of Michael Jordan from The Last Dance documentary in which he was holding a baseball bat and smoking a cigar in his locker, contemplating how his team just lost Game 1 of a playoff series. Jordan was focused and silently calculating how to get his team over the roadblock and back on the path to a championship.
Morant came out aggressive, attacking the basket with a force so great he was knocking down opposing players on his way up to the basket.
Ja Morant finished the game with 23 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds and a steal to propel Memphis to a huge bounce-back Game 2 win over the Wolves.