The Minnesota Timberwolves will try to bounce back on short rest when they tip off against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night in Minneapolis.
The Timberwolves are coming off an 89-88 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. The score was tied with a little over two minutes remaining before the Clippers took the lead.
The narrow loss left the Timberwolves wondering about what might have been different if they had executed a play or two better down the stretch.
“I think, sometimes, we weren’t on the same page,” Rudy Gobert said.
But teammate Kyle Anderson tried to keep a sense of humor.
“We’re getting it all out of the way right now,” Anderson said with a smile. “Playoffs is going to be great. We’re still a young team. People forget (that we’ve) got a lot of young guys out there. Of course, we’ve got to grow up and figure it out.”
The next opportunity will come against the Trail Blazers, who are looking for their third straight victory after posting back-to-back wins on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies. Portland beat Memphis 122-92 on Friday and followed it up with a 107-100 overtime win on Saturday.
Anfernee Simons scored 30 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished seven assists in Portland’s latest win. Jabari Walker added 18 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.
Portland coach Chauncey Billups said he was proud of his players, who outscored the Grizzlies 34-17 in the fourth quarter to force overtime. The Trail Blazers posted a 12-5 advantage in the extra session to seal the victory.
“I knew coming into the game that we were going to have to do everything we could,” Billups said. “You beat a team like that (the night before) at home, they’re going to come out and swing. Throw every swing they can at you, and they did that.”
The Timberwolves are going for a regular-season series sweep over the Trail Blazers. Minnesota is 3-0 against Portland with one game to play.
The Timberwolves won the first matchup 116-93 on their home court Jan. 12. Gobert finished with 24 points and 17 rebounds to lead Minnesota, and Walker had 17 points off the bench to lead Portland.
In the second game, Portland lost 121-109 at home against Minnesota on Feb. 13. Edwards finished with 41 points on 16-for-27 shooting to lead the Timberwolves, and Deandre Ayton scored 22 points on 11-for-12 shooting and had 16 rebounds to pace Portland.
The teams met again two nights later in Portland, and Minnesota pulled away for a 128-91 victory. Edwards led the Timberwolves once again with 34 points on 12-for-21 shooting, and Jerami Grant led the Trail Blazers with 20 points.
This time around, Minnesota is looking to bounce back from two straight losses on its home court against the Clippers and the Sacramento Kings. They will try to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season.
“We’ve just got to figure out a way to put the ball in the basket,” Anderson said. “We’ll figure that out.”
–Field Level Media
