Karl-Anthony Towns Dissects Game 5 Loss To Memphis Grizzlies

KEY POINTS

Karl-Anthony Towns lamented their razor-thin Game 5 defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies
Ja Morant of the Grizzlies sealed the comeback victory to take a 3-2 lead
Game 6 will happen on the Minnesota Timberwolves' home floor

The Minnesota Timberwolves were on the verge of a 3-2 lead on the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies before losing Tuesday, and superstar big man Karl-Anthony Towns took to the podium to explain what went wrong.

“It’s disappointing, obviously. It’s a tough pill to swallow. After all the mistakes made and everything like that, we hit a big three to tie the game up with four seconds [left on the clock]. We felt pretty good about going into overtime and having a chance to win the game still,” Towns said in the postgame presser.

Towns paced the Timberwolves in Game 5 with a double-double of 28 points and 12 rebounds plus three steals and two blocks, with co-stars Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell scoring a combined 34 points.

It seemed as if the upstart Timberwolves were set to win the game after leading for most of the way — until the Grizzlies found their footing and were able to knock off the Timberwolves’ momentum late in the game.

The Grizzlies, led by Ja Morant and Desmond Bane’s 55 combined points, completed the 111-109 comeback in the fourth quarter after outscoring the Timberwolves 37-24 in the period.

Towns was clearly disappointed that they were not able to stop Morant’s game-winning layup, and with their backs against the wall going into Game 6, it’s all or nothing for them.

“It’s going to take 48 minutes of pure desperation and an execution level that we’ve seen ourselves accomplish at times this year in games. We’ve got to be at our best. There’s no more time, no more wiggle room anymore for us,” he noted.

Minnesota will need star-making performances from their big three of Towns, Edwards and Russell, while bench pieces like Malik Beasley and Naz Reid will need to supplement their young core.

“It’s going to be a team effort. We’ve got to go dust ourselves off and get right back to it,” Towns added.

The Grizzlies will look to close out the series and enter the second round of the playoffs by picking up the victory at the Timberwolves’ home court on Friday.