McCollum leads Trail Blazers past Timberwolves
PORTLAND, Ore. -- CJ McCollum bombed in 32 points as the Portland Trail Blazers downed the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-100 on Saturday night at Moda Center.
Damian Lillard contributed 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter for the Trail Blazers (34-38), who won for the 10th time in their last 13 outings.
Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points and Karl-Anthony Towns and Ricky Rubio added 16 apiece for the Timberwolves (28-44), who lost their fifth straight game.
McCollum enjoyed his best shooting game of the season, knocking down 11 of 13 shots from the field -- including 4 of 5 3-point attempts -- and was 4 of 4 from the free throw line.
Portland shot a season-high 62.5 from the field, making 45 of 72. The Blazers fired at a 50 percent clip (11 for 22) from 3-point range.
McCollum was on fire during a 21-point first half as the Blazers went into intermission ahead 60-46. He was 7 of 9 from the field, 3 of 4 on 3-pointers and 4 of 4 from the line before the break. Lillard added 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting for the Blazers, who shot 62.5 in the half.
The Blazers increased the lead to 94-72 late in the third quarter. Minnesota never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
Portland led 27-21 after one quarter, with McCollum (eight points) and Lillard (seven) doing most of the damage. McCollum scored 10 points in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second quarter, upping the advantage to 41-29.
The Timberwolves used a 12-3 tear to get within 44-41. The Trail Blazers came back with a 12-1 spurt to go on top 56-42.
NOTES: Portland shot 66.1 from the field through three quarters, including 52.1 (9 of 17) from 3-point range. At one point midway through the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers were shooting 67.2 (43 of 64). ... The Blazers and Timberwolves play each other three times in the next 12 days. The teams meet again April 3 in Minneapolis and April 6 in Portland.
"We look at it as a mini-playoff series," Portland G Allen Crabbe said. Said Blazers coach Terry Stotts: "There will be a high degree of familiarity between the teams, but it's not going to be like a playoff series. In the playoffs, you focus in on one team. We will have games in between. But it's unique. I don't know if we've ever played a team three times in 12 days" in the regular season. ... In the teams' previous meeting, a 105-99 Portland win at Minnesota on Jan. 1, Towns had his second-lowest scoring total of the season, managing 11 points on 3-of-15 shooting night. ... Portland G Damian Lillard has averaged 31.1 points in 15 games since the All-Star break. ... Minnesota was playing the second of back-to-back games after falling 120-109 in overtime to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night at Staples Center.