Memphis Grizzlies Benching Of Steven Adams Pays Off In Game 3 Win

When the Memphis Grizzlies raced off to a 124-96 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves to even up the series, the first significant adjustment of the playoffs happened with head coach Taylor Jenkins’ decision to bench starting center Steven Adams for Game 3.

This happened at halftime of Game 2 after Adams picked up two personal fouls (including a Flagrant 1) in the first three minutes of the game. After a Game 1 performance of four personal fouls, three rebounds, and three assists, Adams lost his spot in the rotation to Kyle Anderson.

That decision opened up minutes for Brandon Clarke, who provided tremendous contributions from the bench on a night when Memphis exclusively went with a small ball lineup that kept Adams on the bench while Jaren Jackson Jr. battled foul trouble.

YEAH YEAH @brandonclarke23 pic.twitter.com/BXZGkFBjqg

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) April 22, 2022

Clarke scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half for Memphis to help his team come back from two considerable deficits to win 104-95 and take a 2-1 lead in their first-round matchup over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

With Memphis down 16 points going into the final quarter, Clarke was huge going down the stretch, scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter to help spark a 50-13 run to shock the Wolves in Target Center.

came back from 26 points down…….twice 🐻 〽️

a nice 50-13 run to end the game. pic.twitter.com/HlZiL59bHd

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) April 22, 2022

With Karl-Anthony Towns dogged by foul trouble, Clarke took full advantage of the Wolves’ small lineup by controlling the boards and scoring down low.

After the game, Clarke’s teammates swarmed him on the floor to celebrate, including Adams, who was benched to make room for his heavy minutes down the stretch. Clarke took to social media to show his appreciation and reminded everyone it was not over.

Real fighters 💪🏽 let’s go 2 more 🤘🏽 https://t.co/jpiN9VUtVN

— Brandon Clarke (@brandonclarke23) April 22, 2022

Game 4 between these two teams is scheduled for Saturday.