UNDATED (AP) — The seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves have begun their NBA playoff schedule with a stunner against the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Anthony Edwards scored 36 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had a double-double as the Wolves knocked off the Grizzlies, 130-117 in Memphis. Towns had 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who opened with a 9-2 run and led by as much as 13 in the opening half.
Malik Beasley had 23 points and Jaden McDaniels 15 to help the Timberwolves grab home-court advantage from Memphis.
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 32 points and eight assists, while Dillon Brooks added 24 points.
Game 2 is Tuesday.
Also in NBA playoff openers:
— Steph Curry returned to the court and scored 16 points off the bench as the Warriors took down the Nuggets, 123-107. Curry played 21 minutes in his first action since missing a month with a sprained ligament in his left foot. Jordan Poole continued to draw a starting assignment despite Curry’s availability and scored a team-high 30 points. Nikola Jokic (nih-KOH’-lah YOH’-kihch) was high man for the Nuggets with 25 points, one more than Will Barton.
— The Jazz eked out a 99-93 win over the Mavericks as Donovan Mitchell scored 30 of his 32 points in the second half. Bojan (BOY’-ahn) Bogdanovic had Utah’s only two 3-pointers before halftime, in a 13-2 run over the final 3 1/2 minutes that put the Jazz ahead to stay. Bogdanovic finished with 26 points. Jalen Burnson had 24 points for the Mavs, who played without Luka Doncic (DAHN’-chihch) because of a strained left calf suffered six days earlier in the regular-season finale.
— Tyrese Maxey had a big performance as the 76ers dumped the Raptors, 131-111. Maxey poured in 21 of his playoff career-high 38 points in the third quarter, shooting 7-for-8 in the period and two 3-pointers. James Harden and Joel Embiid (joh-EHL’ehm-BEED’) each had double-doubles, with Harden finishing with 22 points and 14 assists while Embiid scored 19 with 15 rebounds. Pascal Siakam (see-A’-kam) scored 24 points for the Raptors, who lost rookie Scottie Barnes to an ankle injury.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The defending champion Milwaukee Bucks are downplaying their recent domination of the Chicago Bulls as they open the playoff portion of their title defense. Milwaukee has won 16 of its last 17 meetings with the sixth-seeded Bulls heading into their Eastern Conference first-round series beginning Sunday at Fiserv Forum. The Bulls’ lone victory came in the 2020-21 regular-season finale with the Bucks resting all their starters. The Bucks won by at least 21 points each of the two times they faced the Bulls within the last month.
