Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves lose to Blazers

The Timberwolves had a real chance to build on December’s momentum as the calendar flipped to 2017, but failed to hang on to a big early lead once again in the loss to the Trail Blazers.

Another game following a win, another loss for the Timberwolves.

Only once this season have they built even a modest two-game winning streak, and since the middle of December, they’ve nearly been alternating wins with losses. It might feel like they’re only a win or two away from really breaking out, but they keep kicking away legitimate chances to do just that.

On New Year’s Day, the Timberwolves came out and built yet another first half double-digit lead, even leading at halftime by a 49-37 margin. But the third quarter issues that had been dormant of late reappeared, and the Blazers won the frame easily, 32-15. That meant that the Wolves had turned a 12-point lead into a five-point deficit.

Portland did not have Damian Lillard at their disposal as he missed his fourth consecutive game due to an ankle injury, but C.J. McCollum slid over to the point guard position and dominated. First Ricky Rubio and then Kris Dunn failed to hold him in check, and either the Wolves’ bigs didn’t do a good job of showing hard enough on screen-and-rolls or the scheme simply didn’t work on this night.

While Tom Thibodeau normally would not have an issue with giving up a steady diet of mid-range jumpers, those attempts are money for McCollum — especially if the shots aren’t consistently well-contested. And on this night, the Blazers combo guard was 16-of-25 from the floor, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.

Mason Plumlee scored 18 points on just nine shots, but sixth-man Evan Turner was the only other Blazers player to score more than 10 points, and he notched only 11 in 30 minutes. It was the C.J. McCollum show, and the Wolves simply did not have an answer.

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Portland is one of the worst defensive teams in the league, but their defense on Karl-Anthony Towns forced him into just a 3-for-15 shooting night. He did tally another six assists, but they all came before halftime as Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts made the necessary adjustments to frustrate the reigning Rookie of the Year.

Andrew Wiggins was solid, scoring 25 points (on 20 shots) and grabbing five rebounds. He did follow up Friday’s six-assist outing with just a single helper, however.

Kris Dunn played very well overall and received the point guard minutes alongside the starters down the stretch. He finished with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 21 minutes to Rubio’s one point in 27 minutes. He was a +12 in the plus/minus column while Rubio was an uncharacteristic -18 as he was on the floor for nearly the entire third quarter.

Star of the Night

C.J. McCollum: 43 points (16-25 FG, 3-6 3P, 8-9 FT), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, one block, 3 turnovers

As mentioned above, McCollum was on fire. (For any Golden Gophers fans, he actually looked a lot like University of Minnesota guard Nate Mason did on Sunday at Purdue with a steady diet of mid-range jumpers and surprising burst into the lane at times.)

The Wolves didn’t have an answer, and the normal starting shooting guard for the Trail Blazers more than stepped up to fill the void left by Lillard’s injury.

Notable Timberwolves Lines

• Andrew Wiggins: 25 points (10-20 FG, 1-3 3P, 3-7 FT), 5 rebounds, one assist, one steal, 5 turnovers
• Karl-Anthony Towns: 11 points (3-15 FG, 0-6 3P, 5-5 FT), 13 rebounds, 6 assists, one block, one steal, 3 turnovers
• Zach LaVine: 13 points (5-12 FG, 2-5 3P, 1-3 FT), 3 rebounds, one assist, one steal, 2 turnovers
• Kris Dunn: 11 points (5-7 FG, 1-1 3P), 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks, one steal, 2 turnovers
• Shabazz Muhammad: 12 points (5-11 FG, 2-4 3P), 6 rebounds, one steal, 2 turnovers

The Wolves’ Big Three played poorly as a group on Sunday evening. LaVine had an uncharacteristically quiet performance while Towns was exceedingly inefficient. Free throw shooting was an issue for Wiggins and LaVine as well.

Muhammad followed up his breakout performance from Friday night with another strong showing on Sunday, shooting 5-for-11 from the floor and grabbing six rebounds in 23 minutes of play.

Next: Timberwolves 2016 In Review: Front Court - Part I

Who’s Up Next?

The Wolves will head to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers. Minnesota dominated the Sixers on TNT back in early November, and Philly’s record still stands at just 8-24 — it’s yet another chance for a convincing victory to hopefully get the team back on track.