PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (25-37) AT MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (35-29)
Saturday, March 5 • 5:00 p.m. (Pacific) • Target Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota
SERIES HISTORY
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 87-38
PORTLAND HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 50-14
MINNESOTA HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 37-24
LAST PORTLAND WIN: 125-121, 3/13/21 (Min.)
LAST MINNESOTA WIN: 109-107, 1/25/22 (Por.)
CURRENT WIN STREAK: Two (Min.)
SERIES NOTES
• Saturday's game is the third meeting between Minnesota and Portland this season and the first in Minnesota, the fourth and final meeting takes place on Monday night at Target Center.
• LAST MEETING: Portland lost to Minnesota 109-107 on January 25 at Moda Center. Anthony Edwards led the Wolves with 40 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Nassir Little and Jusuf Nurkic both dropped 20 points for the Trail Blazers while Anfernee Simons added 17 and seven assists.
• Both teams rank in the Top 10 in the NBA in steals, Portland ranks 10th with 7.7 per game while Minnesota ranks sixth with 8.6.
• Don't look away, since January 1, both teams rank in the Top 10 in fast break points, Portland with 13.4 per game (ninth) and Minnesota with 15.0 per game (fourth)
• On the glass, the Trail Blazers limit opponents to 9.1 offensive rebounds per game, tops in the league, while Minnesota ranks third, grabbing 11.7 offensive rebounds per game.
• Anfernee Simons and Anthony Edwards, both nicknamed 'Ant', each made 50+ three-pointers in the month of January, Simons' 67 set the NBA record for most in a single month by a player 22 or younger, Edwards' 53 is tied for second all-time.
• Anfernee Simons scored 26 points with six three-pointers against the Wolves on December 12, over his last five matchups against Minnesota he is averaging 12.8 points, 3.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds.
• Ben McLemore has scored in double-figures in three of his last five games against Minnesota, averaging 12.6 points, 1.6 boards and 1.2 assists in those games.
• In his last five games against Portland, Karl-Anthony Towns has averaged 20.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists, recording a double-double in four of those games, including a 17-point, 17-rebound performance on January 25.
• D'Angelo Russell is averaging 23.8 points, 5.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds in his last five games against Portland.
NEWS AND NOTES
STELLAR SIMONS: Simons is averaging 4.2 3PM since becoming a full-time starter on Jan. 3. Only four players in NBA history have averaged at least 4.0 three-pointers per game for a full season: Stephen Curry (six times^), James Harden (twice), Damian Lillard (twice) and Fred VanVleet (once^).
^Includes the 2021-22 season.
TRENDON IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Fresh off a new full-time contract, Trendon Watford set new career highs with 13 points and six assists at Phoenix on March 2.
HOME IS WHERE THE HART IS: Josh Hart is averaging 17.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists since joining Portland, up from 13.4 points and 4.1 assists prior to being traded. In six games, Hart has led the Blazers in minutes three times, assists and steals twice along with rebounds and blocks once.
GOING HART: Josh Hart does a little bit of everything on the court. Among guards, his 7.4 rebounds on the year ranks seventh in the NBA while his 3.8 fast break points per game ranks third among guards and fifth overall. His 322 total points in the paint this season and 4.1 assists per game are both new career highs.
SIMONS SAYS: Anfernee Simons has had a break out stretch since assuming a starting role. In 2022, Simons is averaging 22.8 points (23rd in NBA), 5.9 assists (25th), 2.8 rebounds and 4.2 three-pointers (2nd) per game while shooting 45.7% from the field, 41.7% from deep and 85.3% at the line. His 110 three-pointers in the New Year are the most in the NBA.
LAST FIVE GAMES
Game #62 - Phoenix 120, Portland 90 — March 2, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland fell to Phoenix 120-90 on the road ... Drew Eubanks led the scoring effort for the Trail Blazers starting unit, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds and a steal ... Brandon Williams added 14 points off the bench, along with three boards and an assist ... Anfernee Simons contributed 11 points with six assists and a steal ... CJ Elleby scored 10 points with four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block ... Josh Hart dropped 10 points with four rebounds, four assists and two steals ... Trendon Watford added 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a block ... Elijah Hughes earned his first start as a Trail Blazer and finished with three points in 23 minutes of action ... Ben McLemore added eight points with two rebounds, one assist and two steals ... Deandre Ayton scored 18 points with eight boards while Cameron Johnson scored 20 points off the bench.
Game #61 - Denver 124, Portland 92 — February 27, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland lost to Denver 124-92 at Moda Center ... Drew Eubanks recorded a double-double in his second game as a Trail Blazer, scoring 13 points (6-9 FG, 1-2 FT) with 10 rebounds and two assists ... Anfernee Simons scored 16 points (5-18 FG, 1-9 3-PT, 5-7 FT) with two rebounds and four assists ... Josh Hart contributed 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals ... Keon Johnson appeared in his first game as a Trail Blazer, scoring four points with four rebounds, one assist and two steals ... Brandon Williams contributed a dozen points off the bench with seven assists as well ... CJ Elleby scored eight points with five rebounds, three steals and two blocks ... Greg Brown III added nine points, five rebounds, one assist and three steals off the bench ... JaMychal Green led Denver with 20 points and 10 rebounds off the bench ... Nikola Jokic added eight points and 18 boards.
Game #60 - Golden State 132, Portland 95 — February 24, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland fell to Golden State 132-95 ... Anfernee Simons led the Trail Blazers with 24 points (7-14 FG, 4-7 3-PT, 6-6 FT), three rebounds and three assists ... Justise Winslow added 14 points (5-11 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 2-4 FT) with two boards and two assists ... Josh Hart contributed 12 points (5-11 FG, 0-5 3-PT, 2-2 FT) with six rebounds, four assists and a steal ... Brandon Williams set career-highs with 12 points (4-9 FG, 1-3 3-PT, 3-3 FT) and two rebounds ... CJ Elleby added five points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal ... Trendon Watford scored nine points (2-5 FG, 5-6 FT), one rebound, two assists and a steal ... Greg Brown III dropped eight points (2-5 FG, 5-6 FT), one rebound, one assist, one steal and two blocks ... Elijah Hughes scored five points with one rebound and one steal ... Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both dropped 18 points while Jonathan Kuminga added 17 points off the bench.
Game #59 - Portland 123, Memphis 119 — February 16, 2022, FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Portland defeated Memphis 123-119 behind 30-plus point performances from both Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic ... The Bosnian Beast led the way with 32 points (12-17 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 7-10 FT) with eight rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block ... Simons dropped 31 points (11-18 FG, 5-10 3-PT, 4-4 FT), his fourth straight game with five-plus three-pointers, plus three boards, six assists and a steal ... Josh Hart recorded his third straight game with 20-plus points, dropping 22 with seven rebounds, six assists and a steal ... Justise Winslow added 16 points, seven boards, three assists and a steal ... Ben McLemore added 14 off the bench with two rebounds and an assist in 23 minutes ... CJ Elleby contributed five rebounds, one point and one block ... Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 44 points (11-20 FG, 1-6 3-PT, 21-25 FT), five boards, 11 assists and a block ... Desmond Bane added 30 points and five boards.
Game #58 - Portland 122, Milwaukee 107 — February 14, 2022, Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee Wisconsin
Portland took down the defending champs 122-107 on the road ... All five Trail Blazers starters recorded at least four assists, the first time the team has done so since Nov. 13, 2003 ... Anfernee Simons continued his hot streak with 31 points (12-24 FG, 7-16 3-PT), two boards, six assists and one steal ... Josh Hart dropped 27 points (10-16 FG, 5-9 3-PT, 2-2 FT) with seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal ... Jusuf Nurkic tallied his seventh straight double-double with 23 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and one steal ... Justise Winslow recorded a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block ... CJ Elleby added 10 points, 4 boards and four assists ... Trendon Watford drained the first three-pointer of his career and finished with nine points, 10 boards, five assists and one steal ... Jrue Holiday led the Bucks with 23 points and six assists.
INJURY NOTES
For the Trail Blazers, Brandon Williams (left hip pointer) is probable; Eric Bledsoe (left Achilles; tendinopathy), Josh Hart (rest; load management), Joe Ingles (left knee recovery), Damian Lillard (core muscle recovery), Nassir Little (left shoulder recovery), Didi Louzada (left knee recovery), Jusuf Nurkic (left foot; plantar fasciitis) and Justise Winslow (right Achilles; soreness) are out for Saturday’s game at Minnesota.
The Timberwolves, playing on the second game of a back-to-back, have yet to release an injury report for Saturday’s game.
BROADCAST NOTES
Saturday’s game can be seen locally on ROOT SPORTS Plus with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam calling the action. ROOT SPORTS Plus is free for all ROOT SPORTS subscribers, varying by provider. Visit trailblazers.com/watch for more information. On the radio side, Travis Demers, Michael Holton and Jay Allen will have the call on Rip City Radio 620 AM and on all of the stations of the Deschutes Brewery Trail Blazers Radio Network.