It was bad. Real bad. But since we — all of us — like to measure things, let's ask this: Just how bad was that Timberwolves loss last night?
How bad was this Timberwolves loss? A look by the numbers
Taking Thursday's shocking numbers and stats and seeing how they compare with other collapses in NBA postseason history.
April 22, 2022 at 5:45PM
You already have heard the facts: The Wolves had two leads of larger than 20 points Thursday night against Memphis in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series. They led by 26 points in the first half and then led by 25 in the third quarter. The Wolves ended up losing, and not by a little: 104-95.
It wasn't the largest comeback/collapse in NBA postseason history, but it was up there with some of the all-timers. Let's take a look:
- To win after being down by 26 points in the game? That's tied for the fourth-largest comeback in NBA postseason history. Three years ago, the Clippers came back from 31 down to beat Golden State in a playoff game; back in 1989 the Lakers came back on the Sonics after being down 29; and the Clippers pulled off a 27-point turnaround against Memphis in 2012 — that's the top three. Three other times in NBA history a team has pulled off a 26-point comeback in the playoffs, including Atlanta catching the Sixers from behind last year in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semis. So the Wolves let go of a big one, but they do have plenty of company in the collapse/comeback rankings.
- The Grizzlies completely dominated the fourth quarter. Memphis outscored the Wolves by 25, and according to ESPN Stats and Info that point differential is tied for largest-ever for a road team in the fourth quarter of a playoff game.
- Remarkably, the Grizzles erased that final large lead — 25 points in the third quarter — in a flash. As our Chris Hine wrote last night: A 25-point lead vanished in 6 minutes, 37 seconds of game time. Now the Wolves know how long it takes a heart to break.
- 50-16. That was the final run for the Griz. The Wolves had that final big lead in the third quarter when the score was 79-54. Basketball is a game of runs (have you ever heard that one before?) and Memphis sure finished with a big one.
- A run inside of a run: The biggest streak in that closing 50-16 run was a 21-0 sprint by the Grizzlies. They took their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter when Tyus Jones hit a three, leading to a timeout from Wolves coach Chris Finch. The lack of timeouts was part of Jim Souhan's column this morning.
- And what happened to that first big lead? Target Center was rockin' and so were the Wolves. But it didn't last as the team faded going into halftime. Hine explains: The Wolves channeled the energy of a boisterous arena crowd into a 26-point lead in the second quarter. But they scored only four points over the final 10:28 and led 51-44 at halftime.
- While we're looking at all these numbers, here's a weird one: The Wolves scored just 12 points in a quarter and did it twice. Their scores by quarter: 39, 12, 32, 12. There's more pain for Wolves fans in the boxscore, if you dare to look.
- Another number: 4. That's how many shots Karl-Anthony Towns took. He had fewer shots than fouls. Chip Scoggins writes this morning that that is unacceptable.
- And finally, maybe the most important numbers of all: 2-1. Memphis has the series lead now and stolen back, in dramatic fashion, the advantage.
High-profile victims in Minnesota include Mike Conley of the Timberwolves and Twins co-owner Jim Pohlad.
