Memphis Grizzlies must answer call after Minnesota Timberwolves even series in Game 4 | Giannotto

MINNEAPOLIS — Gut reactions from the Memphis Grizzlies 119-118 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of their NBA playoffs series Saturday.

The Grizzlies are lucky this series is tied

They had a shot at the end. A shot to tie a game they no business winning. The same shot Tyus Jones hit when Memphis improbably beat the Timberwolves two nights earlier.

It's just this time the shot didn't go in. This time, the Grizzlies can't ignore what's happening to them. This time, a capacity crowd of more than 19,000 Minnesota fans chanted "Wolves in six" because they had every reason to believe their team could pull that off.

The fact is Minnesota has been the better team through four games. The Timberwolves led for 45 minutes in Game 1, led for nearly 40 minutes in Game 3 and led for much of Game 4.

The Grizzlies' biggest stars aren't showing up often enough, and they can't seem to defend without fouling. Their rotation has been all over the place, jumbled by foul trouble and subpar play.

It's a trend that could have and probably should have put Memphis in a bad spot already. Instead, it will head back to FedExForum with home court advantage and the series tied at two games apiece despite rarely approaching the style of play that proved so effective during the regular season.

The Grizzlies need to rediscover that form quickly. Though this series is very much up for grabs, they've got to go grab it now. Minnesota has proved it's not going to make that easy.

DROPPED GAME 4: Desmond Bane scores 34, but the Memphis Grizzlies drop Game 4 against the Timberwolves

MORANT CLOTHESLINED: Watch Ja Morant get clotheslined by D'Angelo Russell on Flagrant 1 foul in Game 4

Morant and Jackson must respond

The Grizzlies are winning this series even though the two players deemed to be the faces of their franchise have spent large stretches of these games in the background

Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. each turned in another odd and underwhelming performance through three quarters only to figure things out in crunch time.

Morant failed to score until 31 seconds remained in the first half and failed to ever impose his will on Minnesota. His defense was again an issue, and his hesitation on offense makes those defensive deficiencies all the more noticeable.

Morant finished with 15 assists, but his impact felt muted compared to his breakthrough regular season and last season’s playoff series against Utah.

It should spark some concerning questions about whether he’s hindered at all by the knee injury that forced him to miss three weeks at the end of the regular season, or if he’s still feeling the effects of the knee to the thigh he took from Karl-Anthony Towns in Game 2.

Worse yet, has Minnesota devised a strategy to hold Morant in check?

Jackson, meanwhile, has long been a barometer for the entire team. When he's hitting shots, the entire offense opens up. When he's patrolling the paint, the defense veers towards menacing. But he has mostly been a non-factor for all but one half of one game, and he fouled out of Game 4 with 4:29 to go. He is spending far too much time saddled to the bench because of the whistles.

Yes, the refs called entirely too many fouls. But Jackson has dealt with these issues his entire career, and they're cropping up again at the most inopportune time.

The degree of difficulty for these Grizzlies to advance rises significantly when Morant and Jackson play the way they have the past two games.

Desmond Bane when you need him

Towns began Game 4 determined to show everybody that he was going to be more involved than he was two nights earlier, stomping around the court and mean-mugging after every play. It worked to a certain extent when Towns had a double-double before halftime.

But Bane played like he didn’t care, the latest feat in his scintillating emergence as the Grizzlies’ most consistent weapon this postseason.

His shooting was the stabilizer Memphis badly needed when Morant and Jackson again struggled to get going offensively. Bane had six 3-pointers during a 21-point first half, each one met with progressively louder groans from another capacity crowd of nearly 20,000 at the Target Center.

He, more than anyone else on the Grizzlies, is why this series is following a familiar script at times. Minnesota has played better for longer stretches, but Bane’s daggers from outside are keeping Memphis within striking distance long enough for the Timberwolves to eventually blink.

His performances have hardly wavered in this series, one of the few staples of the regular season that carried over into every postseason game thus far. Bane's rise made him a household name in Memphis months ago.

His play in these playoffs is turning heads all over the country. Morant is the franchise star, regardless of his uneven showing the past two games. But Bane continues to be his most reliable sidekick, and the biggest reason this series is as competitive as it is.

You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Grizzlies must answer call after Timberwolves even series in Game 4