Blazers rebound with win at Minnesota

Published 12:00 am Monday, April 1, 2019

The Trail Blazers rebounded nicely from a loss at Detroit with a 132-122 victory at Minnesota on Monday night at Target Center.

Rodney Hood scored 21 points and Evan Turner came off the bench for a triple-double as Portland (49-28), which lost 99-90 to the Pistons on Saturday, finished its final extended trip of the season 3-1.

Turner, who was 5 for 5 from the field, collected 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in only 25 minutes for the Blazers, who have won 10 of their last 12.

Enes Kanter contributed 20 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, and Seth Curry scored 19 points for Portland, which shot .549 from the field, making 15 of 30 3-point attempts.

The Blazers, who moved into a tie for third place with Houston in the NBA Western Conference, blew all of a 19-point second-quarter lead, falling behind 105-99 early in the fourth quarter, before dominating Minnesota down the stretch.

Andrew Wiggins had 21 points and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 17 points with 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves (34-43), who have lost eight of their last 10.

Portland, which led 57-38 midway through the second quarter, matched its season high for points in a half in running out to a 75-64 lead at intermission. Hood scored 17 points and Kanter 15 for the Blazers, who shot .651 from the field, hitting 10 of 16 attempts from 3-point range.

Minnesota closed out the third quarter on a 12-0 run to carry a 100-97 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Wolves increased the margin to 105-99, but the Blazers parlayed a 9-0 run into a 114-109 advantage with 7:13 remaining.

Minnesota drew within 117-114 on a layup by ex-Blazer Jerryd Bayless, but the Blazers responded with a 7-0 tear to go ahead 124-114 with 4:27 left.

The Wolves got no closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Portland’s next action is 7 p.m. Wednesday at home against Memphis.