Minnesota Timberwolves suffer epic collapse to blow 26-point lead at home to Memphis Grizzlies

By Matias Grez, CNN

Updated 0915 GMT (1715 HKT) April 22, 2022

Karl-Anthony Towns took just four shots in the Minnesota Timberwolves' «embarrassing» collapse.

(CNN)«We in Minnesota now,» a cocky Karl-Anthony Towns was heard saying on the bench.

«Like I said after [Game 2] to the media: 'Cool, we got to come back to our house now. I only seen them at their house.'»At the time, his Minnesota Timberwolves held a 17-point lead over the Memphis Grizzlies as Game 3 neared the end of the first half, having already led by as many as 26 at the start of the second quarter.There was every reason for Towns to be feeling confident.Joel Embiid hits last second game-winning three in OT to give Philadelphia 76ers series lead over Toronto RaptorsThe Timberwolves' lead shrunk to as little as seven before the half was over, before they managed to open up a 25-point advantage in the third quarter. Read MoreWhat happened next, however, was branded «embarrassing for basketball» by Charles Barkley on the NBA on TNT broadcast.The Timberwolves were outscored 37-12 in the fourth quarter — including a remarkable 26-2 run — and eventually ended up losing 104-95; that this game wasn't even close in the closing stages speaks to the monumental nature of the collapse.Towns, the Timberwolves' franchise star, finished with a paltry eight points, five rebounds and one assist in 33 minutes of action. More surprising, though, was Towns taking a meager four shots the entire game.«Go home, drink some wine and move on to the next day,» Towns told reporters about how he would recover from the defeat. «I mean, that's really simple. Just decompress. Ja Morant posted the first playoff triple-double in Memphis Grizzlies history.»Just go home and remember what got us