Timberwolves stun Grizzlies in Game 1

Anthony Edwards scored 36 points in his postseason debut, and the seventh-seeded Timberwolves stunned the No. 2 seed Grizzlies 130-117 on Saturday to grab homecourt advantage in the opener of their first-round Western Conference series.

Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 and 13 rebounds. Malik Beasley had 23 points, and Jaden McDaniels 15. Patrick Beverley and D’Angelo Russell had 10 apiece.

The Timberwolves, fresh off beating the Clippers in the play-in game, won their first playoff opener since 2004. That’s when they beat the Kings in the first round on their way to the Western Conference finals.

Game 2 is Tuesday night in Memphis.

Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 32 points and eight assists, and Dillon Brooks added 24 points. Brandon Clarke had 13 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Desmond Bane scored 17 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 12.

The Grizzlies tied the franchise record by winning 56 games in the regular season and earning its highest seed ever.

The Grizzlies had a packed FedExForum for only their third Game 1 in Memphis. But they struggled early after a week off and led only twice by two, the last midway through the second quarter.

In this matchup of the NBA’s top-scoring offenses and two of the league’s youngest teams this season, the Timberwolves set franchise records for points in both the first quarter and the game. They also stymied Memphis with their 3-point shooting, rebounding and defense.

Jazz top short-handed Mavs: Bojan Bogdanovic put the Jazz ahead to stay just before halftime, Donovan Michell got aggressive in the second half and the only made shot by Royce O’Neale was a huge one late for the Jazz.

All that injured guard Luka Doncic could do for the Mavericks was watch from the bench, where at one point he was munching popcorn.

Mitchell scored 30 of his 32 points after the break, Bogdanovic finished with 26 and the Jazz opened the playoffs with a 99-93 victory Saturday over the Mavericks, who had cut an 11-point deficit to one before O’Neale’s 3-pointer.

“The fact he didn’t hesitate and shot that ball, that’s a mindset, and I think it’s a mindset that our team has right now,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.