Minnesota Timberwolves 93
Portland Trailblazers 96
The Timberwolves entered the fourth quarter with the Trailblazers Sunday night tied – but Portland pulled away over the final period, and dealt Minnesota a 96-93 loss.
1) Free throws matter
With things knotted at 65-65 heading into the fourth quarter, the game was within reach for Minnesota. But Portland got to the line a lot in that frame, scoring 16 of their 33 points during the fourth quarter from the charity stripe. For the whole game, Portland shot 26-for-30 on free throws.
2) Another big game for Towns
Karl-Anthony Towns had himself another high-scoring game: 21 points, 13 rebounds, a couple assists, a couple steals, and 3 blocked shots. The rookie has put up a double-double in six of his past seven games.
.@rickyrubio9 feeds @KarlTowns for a @Timberwolves dunk live on @fsnorth. https://t.co/4S37nceSYz
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) February 1, 2016
Andrew Wiggins by the way: Just 3-for-18 from the field, but hit nine of his 12 free throw attempts.
3) Little bench production
Outside of Zach LaVine’s 14 points, the Timberwolves got little scoring form their bench. Shabazz Muhammad and Nikola Pekovic were scoreless, while Nemanja Bjelica notched 2 points and Andre Miller scored 6 points.
Tweet of the game
Ricky Rubio had 9 assists, and also put up 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting (including hitting his lone 3-point attempt). Associated Press reporter Jon Krawczynski has this to say:
Watched Rubio shoot 100s of shots in practice over the last few weeks trying to break out of slump. Had to be a relief to see them go thru
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) February 1, 2016
Up next
The Wolves (14-35) get the Los Angeles Lakers (9-41) Tuesday night at Stales Center, a 9:30 p.m. CST contest.
Final: Charlotte 101, Lakers 82. Ten consecutive losses for the Lakers. Ten. They could set the franchise record Tuesday vs. Minnesota.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) February 1, 2016
