Timberwolves Wrap: Losing streak continues in Portland

The Timberwolves lost their sixth-straight game as they were blown-out by the Trail Blazers in Portland on Saturday night.

What turned into a disappointing swoon when it was time for a winning streak and a shot at the playoffs has turned into a season-worst losing streak that seemingly came out of nowhere for the Timberwolves.

Yes, the schedule has been tough, with five of the six games coming on the road, but the manner in which many of the games has been lost is perhaps the most disturbing. And combined with just how well the Wolves had been playing just prior to the skid makes things that much more frustrating.

On Saturday, the Trail Blazers began to pull away in the second quarter and blew the game wide open in the third, with only some solid garbage time minutes from the Wolves’ reserves salvaging a respectable final margin.

The Timberwolves could not slow down C.J. McCollum, and Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic did enough as supporting cast members to keep Minnesota at arm’s length throughout.

The Wolves’ defensive intensity that seemed to be here to stay is completely gone, and the Blazers’ back court of McCollum and Lillard sliced and diced the Wolves to the tune of 7-of-11 from beyond the arc and 12 assists. The swift weakside rotations are gone, and many teams, especially those with back courts of Portland’s caliber, can beat a lackadaisical defense with ease.

On offense, there were stretches reminiscent of the scoreless finish to regulation of Friday night’s loss in Los Angeles. Ricky Rubio got into early foul trouble but Kris Dunn played one of his better games of the season, finishing with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting with four rebounds and zero turnovers, although he managed only one assist.

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Andrew Wiggins shot just 8-of-19 while leading the Wolves with 20 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns was shockingly quiet after a solid start to the game, tallying only 16 points and five rebounds on the night.

The Wolves need to pull it together over the final nine games and show some interest in finishing strong. Tom Thibodeau will likely have a busy off-season, and it would look a lot better to impending free agents and fans alike if the squad could rattle off a few wins to easily clear last year’s final record, rather than sputtering to the finish line.

Star of the Night

C.J. McCollum: 32 points (11-13 FG, 4-5 3P, 6-6 FT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, one steal, 4 turnovers, 29 minutes

The Blazers’ starting shooting guard only had to play 29 minutes, but he scored an ultra-efficient 32 points. The Wolves simply could not guard him, and he killed them with a steady diet of mid-range and three-point daggers.

Notable Timberwolves Lines

• Andrew Wiggins: 20 points (8-19 FG, 0-1 3P, 4-7 FT), 2 assists, zero rebounds, one steal, one turnover
• Karl-Anthony Towns: 16 points (6-11 FG, 0-2 3P, 4-5 FT), 5 rebounds, zero assists, one block, 2 turnovers
• Ricky Rubio: 16 points (6-11 FG, 1-1 3P, 3-3 FT), 4 assists, 4 rebounds, one steal, 3 turnovers, 25 minutes
• Gorgui Dieng: 13 points (3-7 FG, 0-1 3P, 7-8 FT), 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists, 2 blocks
• Kris Dunn: 17 points (8-13 FG, 1-2 3P), 4 rebounds, 2 steals, one assist, zero turnovers, 29 minutes

Ah, the ol’ zero rebound game from Wiggins. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen that one — December 23rd, in a home loss to Sacramento, in fact. It is the sixth game this season that the 6′-7″, hyper-athletic Wiggins has only managed zero or one rebound.

Towns had a hot start to the game but was not overly involved in the offense and ultimately didn’t play heavy minutes due to the score of the game in the second half.

Rubio was good, although the Wolves as a whole only dished out 15 assists. They were led by four from both Rubio and Tyus Jones while Dunn only had one, but played well overall.

Next: Does Zach LaVine Have A Future With The Wolves?

Who’s Up Next?

The Wolves stay on the road but head all the way back to the Eastern Time Zone to take on the Indiana Pacers at 6:00 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday night.