Anthony Edwards scored 44 points and Julius Randle added 31 points and 10 rebounds to lead the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves to a 141-125 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday.
The Timberwolves, who won for the sixth time in seven games, used a franchise-record 52-point third quarter to further tighten a Western Conference battle for one of the top six playoff spots.
The Grizzlies (47-33), Timberwolves (47-33) and Golden State Warriors are tied for sixth place with two games remaining. Teams finishing seventh through 10th must participate in a play-in tournament.
Ja Morant scored 36 points for the Grizzlies, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Desmond Bane scored 28 points and added nine assists. Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 23 points and Scotty Pippen Jr. added 16 off the bench.
Minnesota used a 26-2 run that began early in the third quarter to turn a 75-69 deficit into an 18-point advantage. Randle scored 12 points during the run, which saw the Timberwolves rattle off 17 consecutive points.
Minnesota led by 22 entering the fourth quarter and Memphis got only as close as 10 points (129-119) midway through the period.
Memphis played without rookie starting forward Jaylen Wells, who broke his right wrist in a nasty fall attempting a dunk Tuesday against Charlotte. Wells, who had 73 starts, had routinely defended the opponent’s top scorer, while averaging 10.5 points.
Minnesota was coming off a crushing loss to Milwaukee. The Timberwolves led by 24 points in the fourth quarter before suffering a 110-103 loss.
Both teams had torrid first-half shooting performances Thursday. The Grizzlies shot 65 percent, made 13 3-pointers and got 24 points from Bane, who was 6 of 6 from beyond the arc in the opening half. The Timberwolves shot 49 percent, made 11 3-pointers and got 26 points from Edwards. Memphis led 72-67 at the break.
Minnesota shot 55.2 percent for the game and made 20 of 44 3-pointers. Memphis shot 51.7 percent and made 18 of 36 from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media
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