D’Angelo Russell’s return was a successful one as he helped the Minnesota Timberwolves end a five-game losing streak by defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 116-111 on Sunday night.
With Russell returning after missing the past three games with an ankle injury, Minnesota used his 3-point shooting to take an early lead. Russell finished with 18 points on the night and helped the Timberwolves get off to a hot start.
Welcome back, DLo! 🤗#RaisedByWolves pic.twitter.com/xlBOXEw2Rf
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But while Minnesota was able to connect from the outside, they couldn’t find their touch around the rim. The Timberwolves shot just 43 percent on the night but went into halftime with a 56-55 lead.
Throughout the third quarter, the Wolves relied on their young stars to jump back out in front. Karl-Anthony Towns put up 23 points and 10 rebounds on the night while Anthony Edwards added 24 points.
Still, the Trail Blazers were able to stay in the game thanks to their bench. Ben McLemore and Anfernee Simons combined for 11 of Portland’s 18 3-pointers on the night.
With the Trail Blazers dialing it up from downtown, they were able to take the lead early in the fourth quarter but that set things up for a back-and-forth over the final four minutes.
A pair of big 3-pointers from Russell tied the game at 104 with 3:38 to go. After both teams exchanged buckets, an airball by Russell turned into a rebound for Jared Vanderbilt to slam home and give the Timberwolves the lead.
The dunk spawned a 6-0 run that helped the Timberwolves take control and end their losing streak. The Timberwolves (12-15) will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to face the Denver Nuggets.
