NBA
Timberwolves Honor Prince With Another Win, Defeat Trail Blazers 112-96
On Friday night, purple rained at the Target Center for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers matchup. It was a Prince tribute night for the Timberwolves and the first game that they dawned their new City jerseys that were Prince themed. It was a neon purple numbering and lettering with a dark purple jersey that’s font replicated the symbol that was Prince’s name for a bit. The night was so special that even Timberwolves and NBA legend Kevin Garnett made an appearance at the Target Center. Garnett showed up sporting his own Prince Jersey.
Minnesota was trying to build off of the 2-0 start since the Jimmy Butler Trade. They also were trying to avenge their 30 point blowout loss to them in Portland last week. Positive and confident energy filled the locker room and the arena. The Trail Blazers were looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. It was a battle of divisional foes.
Timberwolves Started Off Great Once Again
The Timberwolves once again started the game off hot just like their last game against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was a team effort this time instead of one person leading the way. The ball was moving around. Every player was touching it. The start of the first quarter was a little back and fourth between the two teams. However, towards the end of the quarter and the entire second quarter, the Timberwolves took hold of the Trail Blazers.
Turnovers were the death of the Trail Blazers in the first half and the Timberwolves took advantage. They turned it into double digit fast break points in the first half alone. Damian Lillard for Portland had a very rough first half. He ended off the night with just 16 points off of 5-18 shooting to go along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. C.J. McCollum was a bright spot for the Blazers. McCollum finished with 18 points on 8-16 shooting, but only had two rebounds and one assist.
With the new additions of Robert Covington and Dario Saric, the Timberwolves have changed to a more switching style defense. Stopping the pick and roll game for the Trail Blazers was a priority for the Timberwolves. In their previous matchup, the pick and roll game hurt the Timberwolves. Minnesota ended the first half on a run to make it a double digit lead at the half 55-43.
Timberwolves Continued Rolling Against The Trail Blazers In Second Half
The second half was a similar story for the Timberwolves. Except this time, Andrew Wiggins was the player that went off. Ever since the Butler trade, Wiggins has shown confidence Timberwolves’ fans haven’t seen since before Butler was on the squad. He was aggressive with his shots and was showing more effort on the intangible things of the game. Wiggins ended the night with a game high 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, two steals, and a block.
The Trail Blazers were never able to get any actual traction for the rest of the game. As a result of that, they were trailing by as many as 20 points at one point. Turnovers and bad shots were the overall death for them. The Timberwolves capitalized off of those mistakes and didn’t let up.
It was another solid win for a team trying to gain their composure after what looked like a reality show break up. For a franchise trying to figure out what direction they’re going in, this win also gives a little more cushion to head coach Tom Thibodeau. Thibodeau has been under a microscope, but he has seemed to change ever since the trade. There was less barking from the sideline, and rumor has it there was a point during the game that he even sat down on the bench during the action. The Timberwolves finished off the Trail Blazers 112-96.
Notable Numbers
The Timberwolves last night had 28 assists, which was one assist shy from tying a season high. That number was accomplished the game before against the Pelicans. Minnesota also made twelve 3-pointers while shooting 43% from downtown.
Ever since the trade, the Timberwolves 3-point shooting has gone up, especially for Wiggins who has been very aggressive from there as of late. Karl-Anthony Towns, who has been on a tear as of late, had a quiet game with 14 points, 9 rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal. Just Nurkic was muscling him the entire game and was tiring him out.
Overall with this win, the Timberwolves add another win to the win column. It’s also their longest winning streak of the season. The Minnesotan music legend, and diehard NBA and basketball fan Prince can look down tonight and party like it is 1999 with the rest of the Timberwolves fanbase.
Looking Ahead
The Timberwolves continue the home stand and play an afternoon game on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Timberwolves are in high spirits and are trying to build off of their three game winning streak. The Grizzlies have been a surprise to the league this year, starting the season with a 9-5 record.
Photo Credit
GSankary via Flickr
