Portland Trail Blazers beat Minnesota Timberwolves for first time

The Portland Trail Blazers win their 7th straight game at home, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 123-114.

In the two team’s third matchup of the season, the Blazers defeat the Timberwolves, 123-114. Tonight’s win was one of Portland’s best complete games played this year.

The Blazers move to 26-22 on the season, just barely remaining in the Western Conference playoff picture. The T-Wolves drop to 31-19 and fall to the fourth seed.

Game Story

Minnesota started the game hot, scoring 20 points in the first six minutes of play. While Portland stormed back behind solid shooting from Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, they trailed 29-25 after one.

A back and forth second quarter ended with the game tied going in to halftime.

Then, the Blazers took off. Dame led the team to 43 third quarter points, a season-high for most points in a quarter by Portland.

Unlike in previous games, the Blazers maintained their double-digit lead throughout the fourth quarter. The game ended 123-114.

Player of the Game

The lead man in tonight’s game was none other than Damian Lillard.

In just 17 field goal attempts, Lillard scored 31 points. He hit 9/17 shots including six three-pointers, plus all seven of his free throws.

During the 43-point third quarter, Rip City got a glimpse of heat check Dame we saw so much of last year. Feeling the rhythm, he sauntered down the court consecutive trips and pulled a deep three-pointer, only to see it hit bottom of the net and make the crowd go wild.

But Lillard didn’t only contribute through scoring. He tallied six assists, right in line with his season average.

In the fourth quarter, Dame didn’t even attempt one shot. His presence distracted the Minnesota defense enough to open the lane for others to score. CJ McCollum took advantage, finishing the game with 28 points on 12/20 shooting.

Play of the Game

We’ve got two nominees for play of the game, thanks to Pat Connaughton.

And…

The Blazers may have doubled their dunk total on the season in tonight’s game. These alley-oops feature two of Pat’s three slams, leading to a solid 12 points for the guard.

And all we have to say is…PAT CONNAUGHTON FOR THE 2018 DUNK CONTEST.

5 Stats from the Game

• The Blazers scored 43 points in the third quarter, a season-high for most points in a single quarter this season.
• Jusuf Nurkic did not play the fourth quarter and played just 20 total minutes.
• The team shot 55% from the field AND from behind the three-point line.
• 22 of Minnesota’s first 29 points came in the paint.
• Ed Davis notched a double-double in 25 minutes (11 points, 10 rebounds).

Next: Should the Blazers re-sign Jusuf Nurkic?

Portland heads to Dallas next to play the Mavericks for the second time in the past week. In the teams’ last meeting, the Blazers won 117-108. The game is at 5:30 p.m. PT on Friday, Jan 26.