PORTLAND -- The Trail Blazers scored the final 10 points of regulation to defeat the Timberwolves 113-105 in front of a crowd of 19,359 Saturday night at the Moda Center. “It was nice to hit a couple timely threes after struggling most of the night with shooting, so that was a definite positive," said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts of the final two minutes of Saturday's victory. "I thought we played pretty solid defense for the entire night which kind of kept us in it. I thought it was a good basketball game, both teams really competed and it was close, lead changes so a very competitive game."Portland is now 15-11 overall and 10-4 at home this season. The Trail Blazers have now bested the Timberwolves six straight times at the Moda Center and ensure no worse than a split of the 2018-19 season series with one game between the two Northwest Division rivals remaining. Coming off a blowout victory versus the Suns on Thursday, it was hard to know what to expect from the Trail Blazers Saturday night versus the Timberwolves, one of the hottest teams in the NBA that also beat Portland by 16 points in Minneapolis a little over two weeks ago.The Trail Blazers' play versus the Suns, woeful as their current situation might be, seemed to carry over versus the Timberwolves. Portland went up by as many as nine points in the first quarter and never trailed after the first few minutes of the game, though the Timberwolves shaved the lead to 53-51 before the intermission.But after leading for almost the entirety of Saturday’s contest, the Blazers gave up the lead late in the third quarter thanks to a 15-4 Timberwolves run. But Portland got the final bucket of the third to take an 81-80 lead into the fourth. Though the Timberwolves weren’t done yet. A Josh Okogie three gave Minnesota a 93-91 lead midway through the fourth. That lead would expand to 102-96 Minnesota’s largest of the night, with 3:53 to play, and considering the way Portland has played the last few weeks, it’s not hard to imagine that many in attendance Saturday night were preparing themselves for the worst. But rather than falling further behind, the Trail Blazers reestablished themselves, with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum scoring the next seven points to reclaim the lead at 102-103.“We’ve had some bad stretch and we lost some games, trying to fight back and be better," said Jusuf Nurkic. "We showed the start of the season we can be a lot better than that. And when we play defense and play with edge, we’re a pretty good team.”Karl-Anthony Towns made a three on the next possession to give the advantage back to the Timberwolves with 2:30 to play in regulation. That would be the last time Minnesota would score. Portland would get three-pointers from both Lillard and McCollum while the former along with Al-Farouq Aminu went a combined 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final 1:41 to secure the eight-point victory. "(Minnesota) was showing, sometimes trapping," said Lillard. "I kept telling Nurk 'Sprint into it. You've got to sprint into the screen so your man can be behind the play. I just need a little bit more space so I can either raise up or if he's coming one way I can get downhill and go past him.' It's going to be a foul or I'm getting to the rim. I just remembered I turned and looked, I saw how much space Nurk had, so I just kind of tried to be patient so my man wouldn't keep me from going off the screen. I got off of it and I knew I was going to get a clean look. It was one of the first ones when the big wasn't there so I was like 'I'm taking this.' It went in."Second one (to McCollum), easy play, they had some type of miscommunication. I was going to come off and try to make it a two-possession game somehow and I just saw CJ go off the other side by himself, nobody was near him and I was like, that's as good a shot as you gonna get. He knocked it down and that was pretty much game."The Trail Blazers were led by Lillard, who went 8-of-16 from the field for 28 points to go with eight rebounds, six assists and a steal in 36 minutes. But while it was the guards who came on late, it was the play of Jusuf Nurkić that put Portland in position to get a crucial victory. The 7-0 center outplayed his All-Star counterpart Saturday night, putting up 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 shooting from the free throw line, 11 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals in 29 minutes. “You know it’s going to be a tough matchup," said Lillard of Nurkic versus Towns. "I experience that playing point guard when you know you’ve got a tough matchup and you’ve got to be sharp and on point. Those usually are the best nights. I think tonight he had his mind right and he played a great game."McCollum went for 19 points while Al-Farouq Aminu added 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in 35 minutes. All five of Minnesota’s starters finished in double figures led by Andrew Wiggins, who went 8-of-18 for 20 points. Towns added a double-double of 29 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes.
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NOTABLE
• The Trail Blazers recorded 23 assists on 39 made field goals. Portland shot 47.0% from the field (39-of-83) while holding Minnesota to 44.0% shooting (40-of-91).• Portland outrebounded the Timberwolves, 53-40, and outscored them in the paint, 50-38.• The Trail Blazers shot 83.3% from the free throw line (25-of-30) while Minnesota shot 81.8.% from the free throw line (18-of-22).• Portland had 14 offensive rebounds leading to 20 second chance points while the Timber-wolves had 10 offensive rebounds leading to 17 second chance points.• The Trail Blazers recorded 10 steals and eight blocks while Minnesota registered 12 steals and seven blocks.• Portland matched its season high with 19 fast break points while the Timberwolves had seven fast break points.
QUOTABLE
"Que sera sera, whoever wins wins and loses, but you just have to take care of your own business when you can.” -- Terry Stotts regarding the every-changing Western Conference standings
NEXT UP
After going 2-0 on a two-game homestand, the Trail Blazers hit the road for a two-game, back-to-back series starting in Houston with the Rockets on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.