Timberwolves coast to fifth straight win
Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 66 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves breezed to a 120-103 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Sunday night at the Target Center.
Butler scored 24 points, Teague 22 and Towns 20. Butler had five rebounds and four assists, Towns grabbed 11 rebounds and Teague dished out eight assists for the Timberwolves, who shot .544 on the way to their fifth straight win.
Damian Lillard scored 21 points and CJ McCollum and Pat Connaughton added 18 apiece for the Trail Blazers, who lost their third straight game as they finished a four-game road trip 1-3.
The Timberwolves enjoyed a big advantage at the free-throw line, sinking 27 of 33 attempts to only 14 of 17 for the Blazers.
Minnesota outscored Portland 26-10 in the second quarter to take a 57-43 lead into the half. Teague and Gibson each scored 10 points for the Timberwolves.
The Wolves extended their advantage to 79-55 midway through the third quarter. Connaughton led a Portland rally, scoring eight points in a 16-3 run that trimmed the margin to 82-71 late in the quarter. Minnesota increased its edge to 91-74 heading into the final period.
The lead was 112-88 with seven minutes to go. The Blazers got no closer than 17 points the rest of the way.
The Blazers led 33-31 after one quarter and were ahead 35-31 when Minnesota went on a 14-0 run to go ahead 45-35. The Timberwolves extended the margin to 57-41 late in the second quarter.
In the last meeting between the teams, Butler scored 37 points, including a pair of free throws with 2.5 seconds left to give the Wolves a 108-107 win on Dec. 18.
--Field Level Media
