Steven Adams played no part as his Memphis Grizzlies pulled off a stunning comeback to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves and take a 2-1 lead in their first-round NBA playoff series.

The Kiwi centre, who struggled in game one and played only three minutes in game two, didn't leave the bench in game three after being replaced in the starting lineup by Kyle Anderson.

The Grizzlies - eventually - got on just fine without him, overcoming a 26-point deficit to rally past the Timberwolves 104-95 and take an edge in the best-of-seven series.

Adams went scoreless in 24 minutes to open the series, struggling to make an impact at either end as Minnesota's star centre Karl-Anthony Towns grabbed 29 points and 13 rebounds to help his side strike first.

With the match-up not favouring Adams' size and lack of speed, a couple of early fouls in game two saw the 28-year-old benched for the rest of the clash as the Grizzlies levelled the series.

After the game, Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins told reporters that Adams had no qualms with the decision, responding, "We want to win. Whatever you need to do to win, coach, I'll be there."

And yesterday, with the series shifting to Minnesota, Adams wasn't needed at all, leaving the $25 million-a-year man a spectator.

Adams averaged 6.9 points and 10 rebounds while starting during the regular season, and he will likely have a greater part to play later in the postseason if Memphis progress.

That cause was aided yesterday by Desmond Bane scoring 26 points as the Grizzlies tied their franchise record for the biggest comeback victory, having trailed by 26 early in the second quarter. They were also down by 25 late in the third.

Brandon Clarke scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half for Memphis, who closed the game on a staggering 50-16 run over the final 15:10.

"That's why we're really the deepest team in the league," said star guard Ja Morant, who had the franchise's first postseason triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Tyus Jones hit two dagger three-pointers against his former team down the stretch to finish with 11 points for the Grizzlies, who seized back home-court advantage from a stunned Wolves team who won game one on the road 130-117 and took an ugly 124-96 loss in game two.

Game four is on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

- with AP