"They're dumber than rocks" -- Charles Barkley calls Timberwolves' loss "embarrassing for basketball"
Charles Barkley rips Karl-Anthony Towns
HELEN COMER/DNJ via Imagn Content Services, LLC, Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
"We in Minnesota now," mic'd up Karl Anthony Towns said with just over three minutes left in the second quarter of Game 3. "We gotta come back to our house now."
At that point, the Timberwolves were up 17, seemingly cruising toward a 2-1 series lead over Memphis. What followed was a historic comeback that left the Target Center stunned.
"One of the dumbest teams"
After being down by as many as 26, the Grizzlies went on a 15-0 run to cut the deficit to seven going into halftime. Minnesota answered with a dominant third quarter, stretching the lead back to 26 points with 3:10 left.
But then the fourth quarter happened.
Desmond Bane's three-pointer to tie the game at 83 apiece capped off Memphis' 21-0 run. It wasn't until a minute later that the Timberwolves scored their first points in the quarter after Anthony Edwards hit a pair of free throws. Their first field goal came with 5:42 left on the clock.
Other than that, it was all Memphis -- they outscored Minnesota 37-12 in the fourth to steal a 104-95 win on the road.
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The biggest postseason comeback in Grizzlies' history -- tied for the fourth largest in NBA history -- was overshadowed by one of the biggest vanishing acts by the home team. And according to Inside the NBA's Charles Barkley, everyone's to blame for it.
"I don't believe there are dumb kids," he said. "I think they just got bad parents. These Timberwolves are dumb, but their coaches are dumb."
Barkley ripped the Wolves coaching staff for not calling a timeout during the Grizzlies' 21-0 run. Chris Finch, the team's head coach, said that he didn't use one during that stretch because he "burned a lot of them early." But Barkley kept at it.
"This gotta be one of the dumbest teams – all the talent – and they're dumber than rocks," he said. "When they have to think, they can't think."
Barkley rips KAT
Coming off a 15-point Game 2 performance, Karl Anthony Towns struggled once again, putting up only 8 points and 5 rebounds in 33 minutes of action.The self-proclaimed greatest shooting big in the league history had more fouls (5) than shot attempts (4), drawing plenty of criticism from many around the Association.
Barkley was no different, especially after KAT expressed no accountability during the postgame interview, dodging questions and saying his way of picking his teammates up is by "going home and drinking some wine."
"You were the No.1 pick in the draft, you're supposed to be a franchise player. You gotta quit committing stupid fouls, but you gotta play better, man! There's never an excuse, never, for a guy who's an All-Star to get 6,5 and 5 fouls," Charles said.
Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday. KAT better show up. The same goes for the rest of the Timberwolves. Because the Grizzlies sure will.
