Grizz fans celebrate after buzzer-beater in Game 5

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Advantage Grizzlies!

The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night 111-109 to gain a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series, and fans celebrated in Downtown Memphis.

As you can imagine, it was a packed house at FedExForum, fans welcoming back the Grizzlies after splitting the two games that were in Minneapolis last week.

There was love for the city and for the team that even if tonight’s result wasn’t what we wanted, the city is still behind this team.

“Ain’t nothing like the Grindhouse,” said Mykila Miller.

“We’ve got the Grizzlies’ back,” James Craig said.

“We are the better team,” Kewon Singleton said.

“Win this game, and it’ll be over in Game 6,” said Chris Adams.

“I’m so excited. The city is happy; I’m happy,” Richard Holmes said.

“We love our Memphis Grizzlies. Don’t ever get it twisted,” Daphne Cobb said. “We love our Memphis Grizzlies.”

Fans we spoke with said home-court advantage during the playoffs is crucial, a reward for how well the team did during the regular season... and also a chance for more fans to see the team play.

“I’m so proud of them, win or lose,” said Gus Salto. “We’ve been through the slumps and everything, but I’m always going to be a diehard Grizzlies fan.”

“It’s a basketball city, so...we are gritting and grinding,” said Singleton. “We’re NextGenGrizz. We’re in it.”

“They’re more of a family,” said Craig. “It seems like everybody is so close and has each other’s back, like Ja gave Desmond his Most Improved Player trophy. That just goes to show you how close they are.”

With the Game 5 win and potentially a series win if the Grizzlies close out the series in Minneapolis, the sky is the limit, at least in the eyes of fans.

“We don’t get no respect right now, none. We’ve got to earn it,” said Adams.

“I’m predicting they’re going to win the whole thing, really,” said Cobb.

Fans are hoping the momentum from this game is enough to carry them back into Minneapolis for Game 6 Friday, but if it has to end in 7, and some of these fans believe it will, it’s only right that it ends here in Memphis on Sunday.

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