----- Damian Lillard scored a game-high 36 points and Anfernee Simons finished with 31 points on 5-of-10 shooting from three-point range as the Portland Trail Blazers disposed of the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-118 Saturday night at Moda Center.
Damian Lillard scored a game-high 36 points and Anfernee Simons rebounded off a rough night against Denver to score 31 points on 5-of-10 shooting from three-point range as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-118 Saturday night at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Jerami Grant added 17 points for Portland, and Jusuf Nurkic had 15 rebounds. Drew Eubanks scored 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting with a nasty dunk on Rudy Gobert.
“I was just like Drew is bouncy, but Rudy Gobert like he’s so tall and long, he always get to it. He always kind of stands under the rim so I said, `Let’s see how this one go,’” Lillard said about Eubanks' dunk. “And he got ’em!”
The Blazers got off to a quick start taking a 32-27 lead, but the Timberwolves torched the Blazers for 39 points in the second quarter turning a five-point deficit into a 66-65 halftime lead. After halftime, the Blazers Coach Chauncy Billups challenged his guys to pick up the defense.
“I think it was our guys in the huddle challenging each other,” Billups said about what changed defensively. “They were pretty upset with each other giving up baskets so easily. By the way, (Minnesota) can do that to you. They can make you look that way. But at the same time our guys had a lot of pride. It was really them. It wasn’t me, it was them talking to each other.”
The Blazers overcame a 10-point second half deficit to get the win.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers will meet the Timberwolves again Monday night at Moda Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- Drew Eubanks plays the way Rip City wishes Jusuf Nurkic would.