Anthony Edwards scores 37 points in the Wolves’ blowout win over the Trail Blazers

The Timberwolves scored the first 10 points of the game and the Portland Trail Blazers missed their first 10 shots.

Things never got much better for the Trail Blazers, as the Timberwolves dominated from start to finish and never trailed on their way to a 127-102 win Friday night at Target Center in Minneapolis. The win is Minnesota’s third straight.

Anthony Edwards put the game away for good in the third quarter and helped turn a 13-point lead at halftime into a 23-point lead at the end of the third quarter. Edwards scored 19 points in the frame, including five three-pointers. He even briefly went to the locker room after it appeared he sprained his ankle, but quickly returned and immediately drilled a 3.

Edwards finished the game with 37 points, six rebounds and five assists and did not play at all in the fourth quarter.

The 37 points represented a season high for Edwards.

Rudy Gobert set the tone early on defense for the Wolves (6-3), recording all three of his blocks in the game’s opening minutes. Minnesota opened the game with a 10-0 run and prevailed against the Blazers (3-7), who couldn’t buy a basket early.

Gobert finished the game with eight points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.

The Wolves opened the second quarter with an 11-2 run – Julius Randle scored eight of those points, including two three-pointers – to build a 27-point lead, their largest lead of the night. But Portland responded with a 13-0 run to get back into the game.

Randle scored 22 points, six rebounds and four assists. Scoot Henderson led the Blazers with 16 points off the bench.

The game was so well under control late that the Wolves were able to clear their bench, allowing players like rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr., PJ Dozier and Luka Garza all to play over four minutes. The sellout crowd at Target Center was electrified when Dillingham hit a 3-pointer, the first of his career, with just under four minutes to play.

Dillingham finished the game with seven points on 3-for-3 shooting, two assists and three rebounds in six minutes.

It was a dominant performance on both ends of the pitch for Wolves, who appeared to have found some rhythm with their third win in a row and a particularly impressive performance in the second half of back-to-back games.