MINNEAPOLIS – Back on November 4, Portland defeated Minnesota by a count of 111-81. It looked as though the Timberwolves had that on their collective minds Friday night when they returned the favor, winning 112-96 at Target Center.
The Trail Blazers are now 10-5 overall, 3-3 away from the Moda Center and 0-2 on their current six-game road trip.
The Timberwolves never trailed Friday night, shoot 50 percent from the field while holding the Trail Blazers to 42 percent shooting from the field and 28 percent from beyond the arc.
"It would be a concern if we weren’t getting good looks," said Damian Lillard, who went 5-of-18 from the field and 1-of-7 from three. "I think the quality of our shots is pretty good. In this league, I’ve learned that the odds of you continuing to miss good looks over long periods of time is very slim. It’s a slim chance we continue to miss them. As long as we keep creating those same types of opportunities, I think eventually we’ll shoot the ball really well."
But even shooting as poorly as they did Friday night, Portland would have still had a chance to make a game of it had they not turned the ball over 18 times for 22 Minnesota points. Between the poor shooting, turnovers and allowing 14 second-chance points in the first half, the Trail Blazers did more than enough to ensure they wouldn't get their first win on what is shaping up to be a difficult road trip.
"The first half was frustrating just because of our turnovers and offensive rebounds," said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. "We gave them too many opportunities, either giving them the ball or giving the ball back on offense. We dug the hole in the first half because of that."
CJ McCollum led Portland’s scoring effort with 18 points, and Jusuf Nurkic notched his third straight double-double and eighth of the year by scoring 13 points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds.
Lillard recorded 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and a little bit of history. With his fourth assist of the night, Lillard passed Damon Stoudamire to move into third on Portland’s all-time assists leaderboard, trailing only Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter.
In the absence of Seth Curry (right patellar bone bruise), Anfernee Simons received his first significant action of the young season. The first-round pick responded with seven points and three rebounds in 13 minutes.
"First time coming in actually playing in the mix of it, so I think I played pretty well," said Simons. "I want to come in there and obviously not do too much, but once the opportunity is there, you take the shot and live with the results."
With the game in hand during the final minutes, Gary Trent Jr. joined the rookie scoring party with eight points (2-2 3-PT) of his own in just six minutes.
LISTEN UP
NOTABLE
• Friday night's game was Portland's first double digit loss of the 2018-19 season.• The Trail Blazers have suffered consecutive losses for the first time this season after falling to the Lakers 126-117 Wednesday night at Staples Center.• Minnesota forced 13 Portland turnovers in the first half, the most by a Wolves opponent in any half this season. Minnesota scored 18 points off those turnovers, their top total for a single half since recording nine in the first half vs. the Lakers on Jan. 1 of last season. • Jusuf Nurkic finished the night with 13 points and 11 boards, his third consecutive double-double and 8th overall this season. He connected on 5-of-8 from the floor, his 11th time shooting 50% or better in a game this season. • Damian Lillard added a team-high 16 points on 5-of-18 shooting tonight, along with six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
QUOTABLE
"The ball is in my hands a lot and the team counts on me to take care of the ball and make sure that we get quality possessions. I didn’t do a great job of that. Sometimes games go that way." -- Damian Lillard
NEXT UP
After starting their six-game road trip with two games versus fellow Western Conference teams, the Trail Blazers will get a taste of the East in their next three contests starting Sunday night versus the Wizards in Washington DC. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.