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.
Taylor, who also owns the Lynx, told season ticket holders he would “miss being there to cheer on the team.”