PORTLAND, ORE. – The Timberwolves had confidence going into Monday's rematch with Portland that if they could just defend Damian Lillard without fouling, they would have a good chance of winning.
Timberwolves go soft on defense, Damian Lillard hits 11 three-pointers in Portland's 133-112 win
The Wolves were outrebounded 54-37 and Portland made 21 three-pointers, including 11 from Damian Lillard who finished with 38 points in three quarters.
December 13, 2022 at 1:17PM
The good news for them: They sent Lillard to the free-throw line only once.
The bad news: Lillard didn't need many free throws because he was on fire from three-point range.
The Trail Blazers torched the Wolves 133-112 behind 38 points and 11 three-pointers from Lillard, after he scored 36 points and went 15-for-15 from the foul line in a 124-118 victory on Saturday. Lillard put on another clinic Monday as the Wolves struggled to maintain any semblance of defensive cohesiveness in trying to guard him. He was 11-for-17 from three-point range and 13-for-21 overall.
Lillard didn't play in the fourth quarter as Portland had the game in hand, and he had an ice bag on his thigh after a collision with Kyle Anderson. That prevented him from threatening the NBA three-point record of 14 held by the Warriors' Klay Thompson.
"Just a hot hand," Wolves coach Chris Finch said of Lillard. "He was pulling up from 35 or 40 and it goes in. Probably could have gone out and trapped him and gotten the ball out of his hands a little earlier."
Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 20 rebounds for Minnesota while D'Angelo Russell added 23 points. Jerami Grant had 24 points for Portland.
"That wasn't us," Russell said. "Last game was more our style. We kinda let that one get away. This one, I don't think our approach was right as a team and it got away from us early."
It actually didn't get away from the Wolves until later in the game. Despite Lillard's shooting, the Wovles trailed by only 10 with 4 minutes, 44 seconds remaining in the third. By that time, Lillard had hit all 11 of his threes.
The Wolves still felt like they were just a few positive defensive possessions away from making a serious run at Portland. They couldn't execute one.
After leading 88-78, Portland went on a 16-2 run that essentially ended the game as others got involved in the party.
Grant had 10 in the third quarter, including a pair of threes in that run. The Blazers led 106-84 going into the fourth, and they didn't need Lillard the rest of the night.
"Their bench came in and played really well," said Wolves forward Kyle Anderson, who finished with nine points and five assists. "... I wish we were at full strength so our bench could come in and contribute like that. They have a really good bench in this league. You can tell they have a few games together and are playing well together."
In addition to missing center Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain), the Wolves are still down point guard Jordan McLaughlin (left calf strain) and Taurean Prince (shoulder).
With their second consecutive loss, the Wolves fell to 13-14. Finch said their effort on a nightly basis is indicative of a team that is hovering around .500.
"You're pretty much inconsistent by nature," Finch said. "At this point, I don't know if there's a magic button to push. Maybe our sharpness to start the game. That's one thing that's been an indicator for me is when we start sharp and locked in is when we've played well."
Anderson said to do that, the Wolves have to do some self-reflection, and then maybe they can crawl above .500.
"We all got to look in the mirror and be ready to buy in," Anderson said. "If we all see it and try to correct it then I think it'll come."
High-profile victims in Minnesota include Mike Conley of the Timberwolves and Twins co-owner Jim Pohlad.
