Grizzlies vs. Timberwolves: Ja Morant's near triple-double helps Memphis tie series with Minnesota in Game 2

Memphis ran away with a 124-96 win over Minnesota

The Memphis Grizzlies looked downright rusty in their Game 1 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. One of the NBA's best regular-season defenses allowed Minnesota to put up 130 points in the upset loss. That defeat gave Minnesota home-court advantage in the series, and if they'd gone up 2-0 on Tuesday, the Timberwolves could've swept the series without ever returning to Memphis. Ja Morant wasn't going to let that happen.

The All-Star point guard led the way for Memphis in one of his best playoff games to date. Though his scoring fell to 23 points from the 32 he put up in Game 1, he more than made up for it by nearly posting a triple-double in Tuesday's 124-96 victory. His nine rebounds represent a playoff career-high for the third-year point guard, and his 10 assists took him to double-digits for the third time in postseason play.

Morant led the way for the Grizzlies, but it was a balanced night overall for Memphis. No one topped Morant's 23 points, but a whopping seven Grizzlies, including four reserves, reached double figures in the victory. Steven Adams was the only Grizzlies player not to attempt a shot, and he played just three minutes. 

Now the pressure is back on Minnesota. While they can still win this series without winning another road game, the Grizzlies reminded Minnesota why they won 56 games this season with their blowout victory. Minnesota has the top-end talent to hang with anyone, but the Grizzlies are so deep, so athletic and so good on defense that beating them four times out of seven is going to be a very tall order.