Portland @ Minnesota preview
Target Center
Last Meeting ( Jan 25, 2022 ) Minnesota 109, Portland 107
The Minnesota Timberwolves will chase their fourth consecutive win on Saturday night when they play the first of consecutive home matchups with the Portland Trail Blazers.
The teams will square off again on Monday night.
Minnesota prevailed for the fourth time in five games on Friday, rolling to a 138-101 road victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Six Timberwolves scored at least 15 points, led by Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid with 20 apiece. Reid shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor.
Taurean Prince shot 7-for-10 from the floor for 18 points, and D'Angelo Russell had 17 points and seven assists. Jaden McDaniels finished with 16 points, and Malik Beasley scored 15, joining Reid in leading a reserve crew that outscored the Thunder's subs 74-18.
Minnesota's scoring distribution has been balanced throughout this winning streak. Six Timberwolves scored in double figures against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, topped by Russell's 25, and three posted at least 20 points Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors. Towns led the way with 39.
"We just move the ball, share the ball, cut for each other, basically just play for each other," Reid told Bally Sports North in his postgame interview Friday. "We just try to continue to do that each and every game."
The Timberwolves have maintained their scoring punch despite playing without second-leading scorer Anthony Edwards (sore left knee) the past two games.
Portland comes to Minnesota for the second and third games of a four-game road swing, and part of a stretch playing nine of 10 away from home. The Blazers opened the trip on Wednesday, losing their third straight in a 120-90 setback against the Phoenix Suns.
Portland went into the All-Star break riding a four-game winning streak that matched its season high. The Blazers have yet to win since resuming play and have failed to score more than 95 points in any of the three defeats.
Injuries have plagued Portland all season. Damian Lillard has not played since Dec. 31 due to an abdominal injury that required surgery. He is still another one to two weeks away from his next evaluation.
Portland's Justise Winslow, acquired last month in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, will miss his third consecutive game Saturday due to an Achilles injury.
Jusuf Nurkic scored 32 points in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies just before the break, but he has not played since and is out for a month due to a foot injury. Josh Hart, who is averaging 17.5 points through six games with the Blazers after being acquired in the deal that sent CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans, will sit out Saturday for rest.
The injuries and trades have resulted in plenty of roster reshuffling, such as the addition of Drew Eubanks. After averaging 13 points and nine rebounds in Portland's past two games, Eubanks signed a second 10-day contract with the Blazers on Friday.
"It's kind of crazy because we always have new guys, so we get to a point where we play the right way, we start making a lot of progress," Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said after the latest loss. "We're just not to that point yet, but I thought we competed."
--Field Level Media