Portland @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 21, 2019 ) Minnesota 106, Portland 113

The Portland Trail Blazers are at the end of a five-game road trip and gave themselves a chance to come out ahead on the excursion when Carmelo Anthony buried the go-ahead shot in a 101-99 triumph at Toronto on Tuesday. Anthony and the Trail Blazers will try to keep the intensity up when they close the trip by visiting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.

Anthony's shot capped off a double-digit, fourth-quarter rally for Portland, which sandwiched losses at New York and Miami around a win in Washington to begin the trip. "I was really proud of the way our team competed tonight, particularly in the fourth quarter," Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts told reporters. "We've had our struggles defensively in the fourth quarter throughout the season but tonight, to hold them to 21 points and only give up one offensive rebound in the fourth quarter, and the way we competed being down 12 in the quarter, I was really proud of the way we played." The Timberwolves went the other way on Tuesday, squandering a 14-point lead in a 119-112 loss at Memphis that snapped a two-game winning streak. "I'm always disappointed when we lose," Minnesota coach Ryan Saunders told reporters. "But I guess you'd say I'm more disappointed in the fact that we gave up 37 points in the fourth quarter. Because that's something we've been able to hang our hats on."

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS Northwest, FS North, NBA TV Canada

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (16-22): Anthony is averaging 16.5 points in 23 games since joining the team and broke out for a season-high 28 on 10-of-17 shooting on Tuesday, with the final shot proving to be the biggest. "Once (CJ McCollum) kicked it out to me, I saw the defender close out on my right side, kind of gave me the whole left side to get to my spot," Anthony told reporters. "That shot is something that I work on day in and day out. ... I felt good, just wanted to get the release right, and I did." Hassan Whiteside added 14 points and 16 rebounds in the win and is averaging 18.3 points and 17.5 boards over his last six games.

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (14-24): Minnesota is still operating without All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, who sat out his 11th straight game on Tuesday and remains without a firm timetable to return from a knee injury. The Timberwolves continue to find other players willing to step up in Towns' absence and got a strong effort on Tuesday from rookie guard Jarrett Culver, who scored a season-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting and knocked down 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Culver scored in double figures in each of the last five games - averaging 15.8 points in that span - to raise his season scoring average to 8.9 points.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. McCollum (illness) returned from a one-game absence on Tuesday and was limited to 10 points on 5-of-19 shooting in 35 minutes.

2. Timberwolves PG Shabazz Napier went 1-of-7 from 3-point range on Tuesday after going a combined 11-of-20 over the previous four contests.

3. Portland took the last three in the series, including a 113-106 home win on Dec. 21.

PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 116, Timberwolves 112