Timberwolves stun Grizzlies, Jazz beat Mavs in NBA playoff openers

MEMPHIS/DALLAS: Anthony Edwards was glad to get a victory in the first playoff game of his career.
Now, he and the rest of the Minnesota Timberwolves, want much more.
Edwards scored 36 points in his postseason debut, and the seventh-seeded Timberwolves stunned the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies 130-117 on Saturday to grab home-court advantage in the opener of their first-round Western Conference series.
“Putting on another show,” said Edwards, the top overall pick in the 2020 draft. “That’s it. Putting on another show and impact winning.”
All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 points and 13 rebounds. Malik Beasley had 23 points, and Jaden McDaniels 15. Patrick Beverley and D’Angelo Russell had 10 apiece.
The Timberwolves, fresh off beating the Los Angeles Clippers in the play-in game, won their first playoff opener since 2004. That’s when they beat Denver in the first round on their way to the Western Conference finals.
Towns said it was a good feeling walking off with a confidence-building win.
“We did a lot of little things that are needed to win,” Towns said. “We should be very proud of our performance.”
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Memphis.
Ja Morant led Memphis with 32 points and eight assists, and Dillon Brooks added 24 points. Brandon Clarke had 13 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Desmond Bane scored 17 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 12.
“I feel like most of the stuff was on us,” Morant said. “That’s why we lost.”
Memphis tied the franchise record by winning 56 games in the regular season and earning its highest seed ever. The Grizzlies had a packed FedExForum for only their third Game 1 in Memphis. But they struggled early after a week off and led only twice by two, the last midway through the second quarter.
“We tried our best to stay ready, but it’s been a minute since we played,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “But we have to come out ready to go. We didn’t in the first quarter, and we paid for it.”
In this matchup of the NBA’s top-scoring offenses and two of the league’s youngest teams this season, the Timberwolves set franchise records for points in both the first quarter and the game. They also stymied Memphis with their 3-point shooting, rebounding and defense.
The Timberwolves looked like a team that played Tuesday night needing a win to clinch its seeding. They opened with a 9-2 run and led by as much as 13 before a 41-33 lead for the franchise’s highest-scoring first quarter in the playoffs.
Minnesota led 65-62 at halftime, then outscored Memphis 32-30 in the third for a 97-92 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Jazz, 99; Mavs, 93

In Dallas, Bojan Bogdanovic put Utah ahead to stay just before halftime, Donovan Michell got aggressive in the second half and the only made shot by Royce O’Neale was a huge one late for the Jazz.
All that injured guard Luka Doncic could do for the Dallas Mavericks was watch from the bench, where at one point he was munching popcorn.
Mitchell scored 30 of his 32 points after the break, Bogdanovic finished with 26 and the Jazz opened the playoffs with a 99-93 victory Saturday over the Mavericks, who had cut an 11-point deficit to one before O’Neale’s 3-pointer.
“The fact he didn’t hesitate and shot that ball, that’s a mindset, and I think it’s a mindset that our team has right now,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.
The fourth-seeded Mavs, starting the playoffs at home for the first time since their NBA title season 11 years ago, sorely missed their 23-year-old superstar even though Jalen Brunson had 24 points and Spencer Dinwiddie 22. Doncic strained his left calf six days earlier in the regular-season finale. Coach Jason Kidd has said only that he is day to day.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Monday night in Dallas.
Bogdanovic had Utah’s only two 3-pointers before halftime, in a 13-2 run over the final 3 1/2 minutes that put the Jazz ahead to stay. Mitchell, who always seems to step up in the postseason, was 1-of-9 shooting before coming alive after the break.
“I came out a little too passive (early), and in the same respect, Bojan was rolling,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t feel like I was out of control, Bojan had it going … The second half, I came out in attack mode.”

With Doncic in a black hoodie on the bench, the Mavericks got within 92-91 on a 3-pointer by Maxi Kleber with 2:12 left. After Mitchell missed, the Mavs had the chance to take their first lead in the second half, but Kleber missed badly on another long-range shot.
“Think about it: We lost by six, I missed six free throws. We’re right there. If anything, this should be encouraging for our fan base in my opinion,” Dinwiddie said. “Give them credit. They went out there and won the game. … With them having their two best scorers both go for 30 basically and still hold them under 100, overall I think there’s a lot of room for optimism.”
O’Neale made the 3-pointer on the same possession he missed inside before later getting a pass from Mitchell and beating the shot clock from the right corner. Utah finished with a 20-7 edge in second-chance points.
“I had in my head I was going to shoot anyway,” said O’Neale, when asked about the shot clock running down.
Brunson, the starting point guard with Doncic out, was 9 of 24 with seven rebounds and five assists.
“We missed a lot of easy looks, a lot of great looks. We just missed them,” Brunson said. “We’re just playing basketball. There’s no telling who’s shooting what and where. Just kind of put ourselves in position to make plays for one another. Coach Kidd gives us that ability and that confidence.”