Trail Blazers at Timberwolves
There are five teams sitting outside the top eight in the Western Conference that believe they still have a chance at a postseason spot, and the Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers are both in that pack. The Timberwolves will try to continue a run of strong play and gain a game in the race when they open a three-game homestand by hosting the Trail Blazers on Monday.
Minnesota is 5-3 in its last eight games, with all three losses coming to 40-win powers Cleveland, Houston and San Antonio - two by single digits. The Timberwolves just missed an opportunity to secure a signature win when they suffered a 97-90 overtime loss at the Spurs on Saturday, and the players are reaching the point where they believe they should win those games. “It was a great opportunity for us to get a great road trip, win three out of four,” point guard Ricky Rubio told reporters. "Instead, we’re going home three games behind (eighth-place Denver) with only 20 games left." Portland is 1 1/2 games ahead of Minnesota and 1 1/2 behind the Nuggets after sweeping a two-game homestand but is just 10-22 on the road, where it will play seven of its next nine.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Northwest (Portland), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (26-35): Portland did what it was supposed to do against the NBA-worst Brooklyn Nets on Saturday by shooting 57 percent from the floor in a 130-116 victory, though the team came away disappointed by some aspects of the performance. "I thought we could have done a lot of things better," star point guard Damian Lillard told reporters. "We had some loose moments over the course of the game but at this point, you don't apologize for a win. We got it done. ... But we definitely could have done a lot of things better, but you don't want to apologize. We need to win games and we got it done." Lillard handed out 11 assists in the win - his highest total since recording 16 at Sacramento on Dec. 21.
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (25-37): Rubio morphed from trade chip to invaluable commodity over the last few weeks and recorded a triple-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists while logging 43 minutes in Saturday's loss. The 26-year-old Spaniard saw his playmaking responsibilities increase when fellow guard Zach LaVine went down with a season-ending knee injury on Feb. 3 and is averaging 10.4 assists in 12 games with LaVine out of the lineup. Star center Karl-Anthony Towns is picking up the pace as well and is averaging 26.8 points and 17.5 rebounds in the last six games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Trail Blazers SF Al-Farouq Aminu went 5-of-6 from 3-point range on Saturday after going 2-of-9 from beyond the arc in the previous three contests.
2. Timberwolves SF Andrew Wiggins was held to 17 points on 6-of-24 shooting on Saturday to snap a string of 19 straight games scoring at least 20 points.
3. Portland earned a 95-89 win at Minnesota on Jan. 1 - its fifth victory in the last six meetings.