Timberwolves trying to spoil Trail Blazers' playoff hopes (Apr 06, 2017)
PORTLAND, Ore. -- With a playoff berth on the line for one team and pride for the other, the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves will meet up for the second time in four days Thursday night at Moda Center.
Eliminated from playoff contention, the Timberwolves defeated the Trail Blazers 110-109 Monday night at Minneapolis.
"We're not going to quit," Minnesota guard Ricky Rubio said after contributing 11 points and 16 assists in that game. "We'll keep playing hard."
Portland needs to play hard and play well. The Trail Blazers (38-40) hold a one-game lead over the Denver Nuggets (37-41) for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference after the Nuggets lost to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the travel-weary Timberwolves (31-46) played hard but didn't have nearly enough in the tank in a 121-107 loss at Golden State on Tuesday night, less than 24 hours after their home win against Portland. Once the Warriors went on a 15-4 run in the third quarter, Golden State's 12th straight victory was secure.
"I knew it was going to be a tough game," Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. "For us, I wanted the mental toughness that you can overcome, whatever your circumstances are."
Center Karl-Anthony Towns scored 21 points against Golden State a night after bombing in 34 against the Trail Blazers. Forward Andrew Wiggins added 29 points as the Timberwolves ended Portland's six-game win streak.
"Our pride kicked in," Towns said. "We decided as a team we wanted to play harder and come out with a win. So we did just that."
Against Golden State, the Timberwolves got a big game from reserve forward Shabazz Muhammad, who established season highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds.
"He's the one guy who had a lot of energy from start to finish," Thibodeau said. "But we needed everyone."
The Trail Blazers will need help from nearly everyone if they are to beat out Denver for the eighth playoff spot in the West. Portland has lost two straight, including a 106-87 setback at Utah on Tuesday night.
The Blazers are 1-2 since center Jusuf Nurkic went down with a non-displacement fibula fracture in his right leg. The 7-foot Bosnian, who helped Portland to a 14-6 record after a February trade, will miss at least the rest of the regular season.
Without Nurkic, Portland is vulnerable in the middle. Power forward Ed Davis is out for the rest of the year following shoulder surgery, and reserve center Meyers Leonard is playing through a painful hip injury. Coach Terry Stotts is often using a small lineup that features power forwards Al-Farouq Aminu and/or Noah Vonleh at center.
"We're just not deep at that position," small forward Evan Turner said. "Once he came to us (in February), we went so heavy with Nurk. Now we're trying to adjust ... and we're doing it on the fly in a playoff hunt."
Offense was a problem at Utah. The Blazers shot only 39.8 percent, and point guard Damian Lillard struggled to a 5-for-20 shooting night, scoring 16 points.
"Tough night," Lillard said. "I didn't shoot the ball well, didn't impact the game as much as I'd have liked. (The Jazz) have a really good team and a great rim protector (Rudy Gobert). I also felt I had some looks I should make that I didn't."
The race for the final playoff spot could go down to the wire. Portland's remaining four games are at home while Denver has two at home and two on the road.
"We're on our home floor the rest of the way, and we have the tiebreaker on (the Nuggets)," Lillard said. "We play well at home. We're ready to finish the season strong. We know we control what happens. That's why we should be really confident going forward."
