The Minnesota Timberwolves will aim to match a season-high five-game winning streak on Monday when they play the second of two consecutive contests against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers in Minneapolis.
Minnesota defeated Portland for the third time in as many meetings this season on Saturday, 135-121.
The Timberwolves, who will bid for a four-game season sweep on Monday, won five in a row from Nov. 17-24 and again from Jan. 30-Feb. 8.
Karl-Anthony Towns had his way with an undermanned Portland frontcourt on Saturday. He collected 36 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and zero turnovers to pace Minnesota to its 12th win in the past 16 games.
“He was awesome. They didn’t have a matchup for him. He kept going strong to the hoop, he didn’t settle at all. He was huge, really huge for us,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said of Towns, who made all 13 of his attempts from inside 3-point range.
Towns is averaging 31.7 points and 10.7 rebounds while shooting a robust 66.7 percent from the floor during his past three games.
Jaylen Nowell came off the bench to sink 8 of 13 shots — including 4 of 7 from 3-point range — and score 22 points for Minnesota, which shot a season-best 56.5 percent from the floor.
“I knew I needed to be more aggressive,” Nowell said. “I knew I had to take more shots, get to the rim, make the right plays and we were able to come out with this win.”
D’Angelo Russell finished with 14 points and a career-high 15 assists in the victory.
While the Timberwolves are pumping in an average of 132.3 points during their four-game winning streak, the depleted Trail Blazers are averaging a 28.3-point defeat during their four-game losing skid. A league-minimum eight players suited up for Portland on Saturday, and the Trail Blazers even held a one-point advantage at halftime before Minnesota erupted for 46 points in the third quarter.
Portland played without in-season acquisition Josh Hart, who received the night off as part of his load management.
“We fought extremely hard in the game,” Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “I was proud of every single player that played. I was. I mean, coming into the game with eight guys. Let’s just go out, have fun, play fast, play together, play the game the right way. Nobody try to play outside themselves. And we all did that.”
Billups likely was especially proud of Anfernee Simons, who tied a career-high with nine 3-pointers and finished with 38 points in 40 minutes on Saturday.
Brandon Williams, who is signed to a two-way contract, came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points in 27 minutes. He made 9 of 14 shots from the floor.
“I was trying to put him in positions for him to be aggressive,” Billups said of the 6-foot-2 guard. “He is a crafty little dude, man. He has a scoring mentality. He’s tough to keep out of the paint and he can make shots. I thought he was really, really good (on Saturday).”
–Field Level Media