Timberwolves open NBA Cup play by losing 122-108 to Trail Blazers for second loss in a row

PORTLAND, ORE. – Maybe the Timberwolves took Portland too lightly after beating them by 25 at home on Friday. Maybe the Wolves throught they’d find the energy at some point Tuesday night and pull out the victory. Or maybe they’re just not that good of a team.

The end result was a 122-108 loss to the Trail Blazers to open NBA Cup play, a loss that topped Sunday’s debacle against Miami for the worst loss of the young season. If there was ever a 14-point loss that felt much worse, this was it.

They were never much in it against one of the worst teams in the league that just lost by 45 to the Grizzlies. Both ends of the floor were a trainwreck.

The Wolves committed 23 turnovers on offense and allowed Portland to shoot 51%. Julius Randle was just 3-for-9 for 11 points. Naz Reid led the Wolves with 28.

Seven players for Portland finished in double figures, led by Jerami Grant with 21 points.

The teams meet again Wednesday night at Moda Center.

How it happened

The Wolves opened with one of their worst quarters of the season after their last-second loss to Miami on Sunday. They had more turnovers (seven) than field goals (six). Portland led 28-17 after the first. The Wolves’ starting unit was clunky to open the game, and typically coach Chris Finch can rely on his bench to get the offense moving. That didn’t happen early.

The Wolves offense woke up in the second quarter, but their defense didn’t. Naz Reid had 15 first-half points on 6-for-8 shooting and Anthony Edwards finished the half with 14 after a quiet frist quarter. But Portland finished the half shooting 52%. A pair of bench players, Robert Williams (13 points) and Dalano Banton (12) had double figures. The Blazers led 60-53 at the half. The Wolves have regrouped in previous games on bad defensive nights coming out of halftime, but it didn’t get much better Tuesday. The Wolves lost the third quarter 33-21 after committing another seven turnovers in the third. The hits kept coming in the fourth, as Portland seemingly had a layup line to the hoop and the Wolves were doing things like turning it over on inbounds passes.

________