Timberwolves win fourth in a row with 131-114 victory over Grizzlies

MEMPHIS – The Timberwolves are finding that it’s good to catch an opponent when they’re down.

Anthony Edwards scored 33 points, Julius Randle added 27 points and seven assists and the Wolves won their fourth game in a row, 131-114 over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, Jan. 31.

“I think it’s just two dynamic scorers able to get to different spots on the floor and give each other space at the same time,” Randle said. “... It’s really not that hard. We’re both basketball players at the end of the day.”

Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels had 20 points apiece for the Wolves, meaning their top four scorers in the game accounted for 100 points. Rudy Gobert scored nine points, grabbed 16 boards and added a pair of blocks.

Ty Jerome, playing in his first game of the season after recovering from a right calf strain, led Memphis with 20 points and six assists but could not prevent the Grizzlies from losing their sixth in a row. GG Jackson added 19 points and Jaylen Wells had 15.

The Wolves and Grizzlies play again at FedEx Forum on Monday.

The Wolves shot 52.8% from the floor (47-for-89), including 48.6% (18-for-37) from three-point range; Gobert even attempted a three, missing it to fall to 0-for-19 in his career. Meanwhile, Memphis had long-range shooting problems in the first half, making only one of its first 18 attempts from beyond the arc.

“There was a lot of ball movement to be had out there [in the first half],” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “I thought we found a little bit of rhythm right before halftime, some things that we could show the guys that we needed to play a little bit better. And we were able to make enough plays in the second half.”

Memphis has struggled of late, its losing streak coming amid injuries and reports the team is willing to trade star guard Ja Morant before the Feb. 5 trade deadline. Morant was one of seven Memphis rotation players who sat out against the Wolves. Memphis did get the return of Jerome, signed as a free agent last summer.

Of the five Grizzlies players averaging at least 13 points per game this season, only rookie guard Cedric Coward was available.

Morant is sidelined at least two more weeks due to an elbow injury; Jaron Jackson Jr. sat out after being listed as doubtful because of a quad contusion; Santi Aldama didn’t play for the fifth time in six games because of knee injury management; and Zach Edey has not played in nearly two months because of an ankle injury.

BOXSCORE: Wolves 131, Memphis 114

The Wolves’ four-game winning streak follows a five-game losing streak that ended when the Warriors, playing at Target Center for the second day in a row, sat out seven players on Monday, Jan. 26, including Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, in a game the Wolves won 108-83 without Edwards. Two days later, the Wolves went to Dallas, where the Mavericks didn’t have Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg or Kyrie Irving, among others, and won 118-105.