MINNEAPOLIS _ This was the point at which the schedule was supposed to tilt the Timberwolves' way.
Battling like crazy for playoff position in the NBA's Western Conference, with the regular season dwindling away, at home against a Memphis Grizzlies team that had lost 23 of its past 24 games, the Wolves lost.
Again: At home, against a team that had won one game since Jan. 29, the Wolves were out-muscled much of the night and out-shot pretty much all night in a rather shocking 101-93 loss that dropped the Wolves (42-33) into the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoff race, a half-game behind Utah.
The Grizzles shot 47.6 percent on the night. They made 15 of 31 three-pointers, getting open looks from behind the arc all game long.
Down 82-76 to start the fourth quarter the Grizzlies (20-54) scored the first six points of the quarter and never trailed again, using their physical inside defense to deny the Wolves down the stretch.
Wayne Selden came off the bench to score 21 points for Memphis, hitting four of six three-pointers. Center Marc Gasol had 20 points and 10 rebounds. He hit four of seven three-pointers.
The Wolves were led by Jeff Teague, who had 25 points and seven assists. Andrew Wiggins had 18, Karl-Anthony Towns 15 and Taj Gibson 18.
In the fourth quarter the Wolves shot 3-for-17 and turned the ball over eight times while being out-scored 23-11.
Against the struggling Grizzlies, the Wolves were lethargic to start the game, despite Teague's best efforts to inject some energy into his team.
The Wolves trailed for most of the quarter, shot 39.1 percent and trailed by as many as five before coming back to within 26-25 on Jamal Crawford's corner three-pointer at quarter's end.
Teague was the exception. He made three of four shots, scored nine of his' teams 25 first-quarter points. The rest of the team shot a combined 6-for-19 from the field.
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, rode Gasol's 10 points and 4 rebounds into the lead.
The Wolves picked up the pace in the second quarter, hitting on 13 of 20 shots and going 5-for-8 on three-pointers. And they still needed a late-quarter rush to forge a 59-59 halftime tie.
The reason? The Grizzlies shot 14-for-22 overall and made five of seven three-pointers.
Memphis grew their lead to as big as seven early in the quarter.
Down six, the Wolves finished the half on a 17-11 run.
That includes a 6-2 run to end the half. Down 57-53, Teague was fouled and hit both free throws. After Chalmers scored at the other end, Wiggins grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Gorgui Dieng for two. Then Teague stole the in-bounds pass and scored, tying the game at 59. It was the first time since early in the first quarter the Wolves hadn't trailed.
In a back-and-forth third quarter, it was the Wolves who made the final move.
Down a point, Minnesota scored seven straight to take a three-point lead on Towns' corner three-pointer. But the Grizzlies roared right back, with Gasol's three-pointer igniting a 10-2 run that put Memphis up two.
But, again, it was Teague. In an 8-2 run to end the quarter, Teague fed Towns for a basket, was fouled and made two free throws and scored a basket on his own, putting the Wolves up 82-78 entering the fourth quarter.
