The Minnesota Timberwolves became the first team in the NBA to lose 30 games, falling to the Portland Trail Blazers 125-121 on Saturday night.
Portland took control of the game early, building a 13-point lead in the first half. While Damian Lillard was a problem (24 points, 10 assists) for the Timberwolves, the real issue was Enes Kanter.
The Blazers center put up 20 points and 11 rebounds on the night and helped Portland take a 66-57 lead into halftime.
The Timberwolves heated up in the second half behind Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns led the Timberwolves with a game-high 34 points and eight rebounds.
While Towns was having his typical night, the Timberwolves bench was hot for the second straight game. Jaylen Nowell, Naz Reid, and Juancho Hernangomez all scored in double figures as the Wolves took a four-point lead in the fourth quarter.
But the Trail Blazers answered with an 11-2 run midway through the final frame to take the lead back. The game came down to the final minutes and after a ball went out of bounds off Anthony Edwards, the ensuing review missed a foul call on Robert Covington.
Lillard made the Wolves pay with a long 2-pointer to make it a two-possession game and the Timberwolves couldn’t find enough offense to make a comeback.
The Timberwolves fell to 8-30 with the loss and will host a rematch with the Trail Blazers on Sunday night.
