All-Star forward Karl-Anthony Towns ran into trouble Monday night at Target Center, so fellow forward Rudy Gobert helped him and the Timberwolves with a performance of 25 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots, this which was all they needed. a 119-114 victory over Portland.
Included were Gobert’s 9-for-10 shooting from the field – many of them attacking the rim with two-handed dunks – and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, too, before fouling out on the final of the match. seconds.
It also didn’t hurt that the Wolves won that free throw battle, outscoring Portland with a 28-8 disparity in free throws made.
Or that the Wolves’ third big man, Naz Reid, went 4-for-4 from three as the Wolves capped a four-game season against the Trail Blazers. The victory also ended a brief two-game losing streak at home to Sacramento and the LA Clippers.
Gobert punctuated the evening with a big blocked shot at one end that point guard Mike Conley turned into a three-pointer and a 115-101 lead with 1 minute, 22 seconds remaining.
The only shot he missed all night was a floater late in the game.
“I thought it was going to go in, but it came out,” Gobert said. “It’s good.”
Afterward, he was asked if he needed to do more when Towns went to the bench 14 seconds into the second quarter.
“No, I don’t think I need to do more,” Gobert said. “I just have to be myself whether KAT is there or not. But obviously sometimes if one of us isn’t there we’ll have opportunities.”
The Wolves finished a seven-game homestand — their longest of the season, just before hitting the road for six straight — with a 4-3 record.
That included losses to Milwaukee to start it and to the Kings and Clippers before beating the Trail Blazers. They also beat Brooklyn, San Antonio and Memphis.
BOXSCORE: Timberwolves 119, Portland 114
Sign up for our Timberwolves Update newsletter
“We just had to go out and do what we preach,” Gobert said. “Try to be aggressive defensively and offensively, share the ball and try to run a little more. The last few games we haven’t helped ourselves. Tonight we did a much better job.”
The Kings and Clippers have outscored the Wolves 38-0 in transition points in the last two games. As of Monday, the Wolves’ disadvantage was just 15-7, which Wolves coach Chris Finch called an improvement, if only a little.
The Trail Blazers played shorthanded Monday, missing injured big man Deandre Ayton, Jerami Grant, Malcolm Brogdon and Toumani Camara, among others.
The Wolves trailed by seven and trailed by five midway through the second quarter. They led 55-48 at halftime and 73-60 in the first five minutes of the third quarter before Portland got within three points.
But the Wolves trimmed their lead to 88-82 late in the third quarter and 102-87 midway through the fourth quarter, with Gobert doing much of the work — and scoring.
He also made them run with two outlet passes that helped those transition numbers a bit.
“We took the lead,” Finch said. “We didn’t set the world on fire. We only had seven fast break points. But we played a lot faster at times.”
Monday’s game got off to an inauspicious start when Wolves star Anthony Edwards entered the arena late before the first tip and the Wolves received a delay of game warning even before the tip. Reserve Nickeil Alexander-Walker started in his place and played the opener 35 seconds before Edwards entered the match. The Wolves received a delay for a game violation.
“I don’t know what it was,” Finch said. “You’ll have to ask him.”
Edwards usually does last-minute warmups before entering the arena. He said he lost track of time.
“Sixth man of the year,” he said of his new bench role.
Edwards didn’t score his first basket until the final minute of the half, en route to a 13-point night.
