Timberwolves end Blazers' six-game winning streak
MINNEAPOLIS -- Karl-Anthony Towns scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Andrew Wiggins added 29 points to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 110-109 win over the red-hot Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
Portland's Damian Lillard had a good look at a potential game-winning shot, but his jumper rimmed out at the buzzer, ending the Blazers' a six-game winning streak.
Towns hit a big one-handed shot with 57.3 seconds to play to give Minnesota (31-45) a five-point lead. The Towns basket came after Portland's CJ McCollum missed a wide-open 3-pointer at the other end that would have tied the game at 105.
Portland (38-39) is in eighth place in the Western Conference, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Denver Nuggets. The Blazers' next three games against playoff-bound teams.
Towns capped his night with a two-handed slam over Al-Farouq Aminu to give Minnesota a 110-106 lead with 35 seconds remaining. After Wiggins' shot with 4.9 seconds to play went out of bounds, Portland had one last chance. Lillard, who finished with 25 points, couldn't get it to fall.
Aminu added 20 points off the bench, while McCollum and Maurice Harkless each scored 17.
Portland led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter before Minnesota stormed back to take a three-point lead after three quarters. The Trail Blazers used a 7-0 run to regain the lead, capped by a 3-pointer by Allen Crabbe.
Monday's game was a makeup of a game that was postponed on March 6. That game had to be rescheduled after condensation on the court was deemed unsafe. An ice rink underneath the basketball court at the multi-purpose arena, coupled with unseasonably warm weather in Minnesota, resulted in the moisture on the court.
NOTES: Blazers G Damian Lillard on Monday was named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for March. Lillard averaged 29.1 points, 6.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 16 games during March. It's the first time in his five-year career that Lillard has won the monthly award. ... Portland's Terry Stotts was honored Monday as March's NBA Western Conference Coach of the Month. Stotts led the Blazers to a 13-3 mark in March as Portland eyes a spot in the playoffs. "I'm just proud of my team," Stotts said Monday. "When coaches get awards like this, it's because the players are playing well and the team is playing well." ... With a technical free throw in the third quarter, Wolves G Ricky Rubio has now made 49 consecutive technical free throws, the longest active streak in the league. ... Minnesota C Karl-Anthony Towns registered his 57th double-double of the season.