Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts during a fourth-round three-point shot against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Moda Center on December 10, 2022 in Portland, Oregon. Portland Trail Blazers won 124-118. Alika Jenner/Getty Images/AFP
Damian Lillard scored 36 points and eight assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 124-118 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night in the first game of a setback.
Anfernee Simons hit five 3-pointers and scored 31 as the Trail Blazers ended a five-game losing streak against Minnesota. Jerami Grant added 17 points and 7 rebounds, Josh Hart had 11 points and 8 rebounds, and Jusuf Nurkic scored 15 goals for Portland, who have won 3 of their past 4 games.
Anthony Edwards had 26 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Rudy Gobert scored 24 on 9/11 and collected 9 rebounds, and D’Angelo Russell also scored 24. Naz Reid added 15 points, while Kyle Anderson contributed 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for Minnesota.
The Timberwolves visit Portland again on Monday night.
Portland shot from distance 51.8%, including 13 of 34 shots from 3-point range. Trail Blazers have a 45-28 recovery advantage.
🔥 Damian Lillard & Anfernee Simons rush, finish with 67 points combined in @trailblazers W! #RipCity @Dame_Lillard: 36 PTS, 8 AST, 2 STL@AnferneeSimons: 31 points, 5 3 pm pic.twitter.com/FYZvYzFuxS
– NBA (@NBA) December 11, 2022
The Timberwolves took 54.2% of their shots and 10 of their 23 shots came from behind the arc.
It was a two-point game early in the final half before Shaedon Sharpe made a jump, Grant drilled a 3-pointer and Simons hit a jump to give the Trail Blazers a 103-94 lead with 8:39 left.
Minnesota responded with a 12-4 run, pulling in a 107-106 on Jaden McDaniels’ 3-pointer with 6:16 to play.
Lillard hit a 3-pointer to make it 118-113 with 2:36 left and Grant scored another jump with 1:16 left.
Russell tried to be the Timberwolves in 120-116 with 1:08 to play but Lillard made a jump with 46.1 seconds left and then made two more free throws to pass the 15/15 effort. from the lime line.
Edwards scored 13 points in the first half as Minnesota led 66-65 after halftime. Simons has 18 innings for the Trail Blazers.
The Timberwolves used a 10-0 scoreline in the third inning to take an 86-76 lead with 4:48 remaining.
A three-pointer from Grant and a strike from Lillard started the first half 14-3 as Portland took the lead in the 89-86 round with 2:43 remaining.
Lillard then made four free throws in a row to make it 92 and Drew Eubanks hit a back throw home with 14.3 seconds left when Portland led by two points in the final half.
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