Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves top Trail Blazers
By Ben Beecken
The Timberwolves bounced back from a disappointing loss on Saturday night with an impressive win over the Portland Trail Blazers at Target Center on Monday.
The Timberwolves were eliminated from playoff contention by the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night as the current eighth-seeded team in the Western Conference defeated the Phoenix Suns. On Monday, the Wolves beat the Blazers in a game that was infinitely less meaningful for Tom Thibodeau’s squad than Terry Stotts’.
After the Wolves halted their two-game winning streak with a colossal stinker against the Sacramento Kings, they defended home court with a competitive, one-point win over Portland. Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins were both fantastic, and Ricky Rubio dished out 16 assists in the victory.
On the heels of Ty Lawson scoring nearly at will against the Wolves sluggish pick-and-roll defense last time out, it took Damian Lillard 21 shot attempts to score 25 points this time around.
The Wolves finished the first quarter with a six-point lead but the bench was horrible in the second frame (stop me if you’ve heard that one before) and a huge run by Portland to close the first half gave them an eight-point lead at halftime.
But Minnesota played a strong third and a good-enough fourth quarter to hang on and win. Things were a bit dicey when a Towns dunk put the Timberwolves up by four points with just 35 seconds remaining and the Blazers had a three-point possession (a free throw, offensive rebound, and an Al-Farouq Aminu bucket). Then, an empty trip from the Wolves gave the Blazers the ball, down by one, with just over four seconds left in the game.
After a timeout, the Wolves forced Damian Lillard to his left and Rubio was able to get a decent-enough contest on a 17-foot jumper that barely missed at the buzzer, and the win was preserved.
Star of the Night
Karl-Anthony Towns: 34 points (15-25 FG, 4-4 FT), 12 rebounds, one turnover
Towns was dominant down low once again. It was also the rare game in which he did not attempt a single three-point shot.
It was also one of the many games in which one glances at the post-game box score and is astonished to see that the Wolves superstar attempted just four free throws all night long. KAT was seemingly battered and bruised, per usual, but simply didn’t garner the foul calls that he likely deserved.
Notable Timberwolves Lines
- Andrew Wiggins: 29 points (11-24 FG, 3-5 3P, 4-4 FT), 3 rebounds, zero turnovers
- Ricky Rubio: 11 points (2-7 FG, 7-9 FT), 16 assists, 7 rebounds, one block, 5 turnovers
- Brandon Rush: 12 points (4-8 FG, 1-3 3P, 3-4 FT), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, one steal, 2 turnovers
Wiggins was great in this one, and while the overall shooting percentage should be higher, the Wolves would be thrilled with Wiggs making 3-of-5 beyond the arc in more games than just this one. The zeros across the box score are still a problem — except for the zero turnovers, of course.
Rubio struggled with his entry passes and lob attempts in this one, and his shooting was on-par with where it has been of late, either. Rush was great while playing a surprising 37 minutes. Interestingly, Kris Dunn only saw the floor for six minutes despite a recent strong stretch of play.
Next: Potential Off-Season Trades For The Timberwolves
Who’s Up Next?
The Timberwolves are already on their way out west to take on the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN. Remember, Monday’s game was a reschedule from The Condensated Floor Game a few weeks back.