After the end of three quarters, it was clear that the Minnesota Timberwolves were not up to the task of matching up against the Portland Trail Blazers. What was not clear was just how dominant of a game Trail Blazers PG Damian Lillard was putting up against the Timberwolves.
After three quarters he had scored 38 points and most of those coming from his 11 of 17 from beyond the perimeter. Just how eye-popping was that? At that same point in time in this one, the Timberwolves had only scored on seven of 17 shots from the perimeter, and that was a pretty good showing for the Timberwolves.
Damian Lillard has tied his career highs for threes in a game (11). There is 5:40 left in the third quarter.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) December 13, 2022
There have been some who have suggested that the Timberwolves have been getting better without PF/C Karl-Anthony Towns. I don’t see it, either on the basketball court or among the players.
For the second game in a row, the Timberwolves’ rebounding has relied almost exclusively upon center Rudy Gobert, who had 20 rebounds early in the fourth quarter. The entire Timberwolves roster had 37.
Rudy Gobert now has four 20+ rebound games this season and the Wolves are still somehow 24th in the NBA in defensive rebounding
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) December 13, 2022
The Timberwolves roster seemed lethargic in this one. Jaden McDaniels was active on defense, but he had minimal impact on the course of the game. McDaniels (+/-) was a disappointing -15. But SG Anthony Edwards, who has been effective on both halves of a basketball court of late, scored 17 points, dished three assists, and snagged two steals, but his (+/-) was a heartbreaking -25 in this one.
The game was so lopsided that HC Chris Finch decided to rotate his young players into the game. It was out of hand, and the team had no reason to continue to push the starters into a losing effort. Josh Minott, Matt Ryan, Wendell Moore Jr., Nathan Knight, and even Luka Garza saw four minutes in this one.
Lillard tied his career-high 11 threes made in a game, a mark set with five minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Timberwolves never held a lead, and never got close to making a run for the lead. A very disappointing performance from a Timberwolves team that sinks to 13-14, and is now 1-2 on a very important five-game road trip.