The Minnesota Timberwolves know better than to judge the Portland Trail Blazers by their record.
On paper, the Trail Blazers are six games under .500 entering Saturday night’s tipoff against the Timberwolves in Minneapolis. But the overall standings disguise the fact that Portland has been one of the hottest teams in the NBA over the past few weeks.
The Trail Blazers will go for their seventh win in a row when they open a three-game road trip in Minnesota. Since Jan. 19, they have won 10 of 11 games, including a 3-0 mark on the road and a 7-1 record at home.
“It feels amazing,” Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons said. “(We’re) going out there competing at a high level and beating some pretty good teams. I’m just proud of the way we’ve showed up each and every night.”
The Timberwolves also are feeling better after posting back-to-back wins over the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets this week. They improved to 2-2 on their five-game homestand, which will conclude Saturday.
Anthony Edwards has been a huge reason for Minnesota’s recent upswing. Edwards is averaging 45 points in his past two games, and he leads the team with 27.2 points per game this season.
Injuries to key players such as Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo also have created opportunities for younger players to contribute. Rookie Jaylen Clark has taken full advantage of increased playing time, and the defensive standout is coming off a career-best 17-point performance against Houston.
“A lot of rookie players go in there and they make mistakes, and they might make two mistakes and one or two good plays if they’re lucky,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “But he just hasn’t made mistakes. … The first key to being a young player when you’re earning your first minutes is to not hurt the team, so he’s been above the norm there.”
Minus Randle and DiVincenzo, who both will remain out against Portland, the Timberwolves’ next two leading scorers are Naz Reid (14.0 points per game) and Jaden McDaniels (11.0).
Portland is led in scoring by Simons, who is averaging 18.4 points per game. Shaedon Sharpe (17.4 points per game), Deandre Ayton (14.7) and Jerami Grant (14.7) round out the top four scorers.
Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups wants his players to maintain their energy level on both ends of the court when they take on the Timberwolves. If they can do that, Billups said, there is a chance for Portland to keep finding success.
“The one thing that’s been consistent is just our defense,” Billups said. “And we know that that’s the way that we’re going to be able to compete with all of these teams. We’ve got to be flying around. We’ve got to be playing a lot of people. Next person that comes in has to play (with) the same intensity.”
This will be the fourth and final meeting between the teams during the regular season. The Timberwolves won the first matchup 127-102 on their home court Nov. 8, and Portland responded by winning both of its home games.
The Trail Blazers won 122-108 on Nov. 12 in Portland. One night later, they prevailed again with a 106-98 victory in the rematch on their home court.
–Field Level Media
