Small but proud group of Grizz fans watch team take Game 3 in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (WMC) - From Thursday morning to right before the 6:30 p.m. tipoff, a small group of Grizzlies fans made their way into the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis to watch the Memphis Grizzlies take on the Minnesota Timberwolves for Game 3 of the NBA Playoffs.

“I feel like I’m going to puke,” said Rebecca Fava, a Grizzlies fan from Memphis.

Fava and her husband have been fans since the pyramid days and season ticket holders for years, but they have never travelled for the playoffs before.

She said there’s something different about this team than previous playoff runs.

“The cohesiveness, just the fact that they play so well together,” Fava said. “This season we’ve been in love with the team all year long, just the way they have gelled together and love each other.”

Inside the Target Center, Grizzlies fans were like needles in the haystack. Few had travelled from all over to see the young Grizzlies push to continue their playoff hopes.

“We flew in this morning,” Shelby Hall of Nashville said. “It was just a spur of the moment decision. We wanted to be behind enemy lines.”

“I flew in this morning at 8 a.m., and I’m flying back 9 a.m. tomorrow morning because I’ve got work at noon,” Brennon Chapman of Memphis said.

“We went to Game 1 in Memphis,” Giovanni Pastrano from Puerto Rico said. “We saw the loss, and I live [in Minneapolis] for two years. I had to come back and support the Grizzlies.”

For transplant fans, seeing the Grizzlies and Ja Morant for the first time, especially with a win in Game 3 by a score of 104-95, was a special treat.

“Ja is my favorite player,” said Angelo D’Amico, a kid who flew in Thursday afternoon from Milwaukee. “I like the Bucks more, but Ja is my favorite player. I think the Grizzlies are going to go farther.”

“I’ve been a Grizzlies fan since Ja Morant,” Darryl Glass of Minneapolis said outside the Target Center. “He’s the best player I’ve ever seen, and to see him develop into a better player has been something to look at.”

Back in Memphis, an estimated 300 Grizzlies fans turned out with lawn chairs and coolers to watch the game tonight at Fourth Bluff Park in downtown Memphis.

Free swag was available as well as Grizzlies merch for sale as fans watched the Grizzlies on a giant screen.

Food trucks served up tasty grub and the Grizzline and Grizz Girls provided extra entertainment to get the crowd going for Game 3 of the series with the T-Wolves.

The Grizzlies now lead the series against the Timberwolves 2-1 with a chance to go up another game when Game 4 rolls around.

Game 4 is Saturday with a 9 p.m. tipoff.

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