The Wolves begin NBA Cup play with an ugly loss to the Blazers

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said his team “made almost every mistake you have to make” in blowing an eight-point lead in a loss to the Miami Heat late Sunday. Losses of the ball, disjointed attacks and defensive failures were an issue.

Tuesday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers started similarly. The Wolves turned it over seven times in the first quarter alone and quickly fell behind by double digits. The mistakes continued, the offense couldn’t find a rhythm and they couldn’t string together stops defensively, leading to a 122-108 loss to the Blazers at the Moda Center in Portland.

Making matters worse, Tuesday night’s game was the Timberwolves’ first group game in the NBA Cup, the league’s annual seasonal tournament that began last season. And the Blazers weren’t at full strength. Starting big Deandre Ayton was sidelined with a sprained finger, and guard Anfernee Simons left the first quarter and did not return.

That didn’t stop Portland from controlling Tuesday night’s contest from start to finish.

The Trail Blazers (4-8) came into Tuesday’s game fresh off an embarrassing 134-89 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday and were motivated from the start. Portland is a team that struggled in the first quarters, only scoring about 20 points per game in the first frame, but they took advantage of the Wolves’ turnovers and led 28-17 after 12 minutes.

Against the Heat, the Wolves (6-5) nearly matched their season high with 19 turnovers as a team. On Tuesday they set a new season high with 21 giveaways. They shot a strong 51%, but turnovers led to 25 points for the Trail Blazers.

The Wolves were overwhelmed on the glass and lost the rebound battle 39-32. Once again, they struggled to give up offensive rebounds as the Trail Blazers conceded 11 missed shots of their own. The defensive intensity just wasn’t there.

The entire Trail Blazers squad benefited from this. Seven Portland players finished in double figures, led by Jeremi Grant with 21. Robert Williams III had 19 points and nine rebounds off the bench, Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avidja – who hit a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter that tied the could beat the buzzer – ended with 17 points each.

Scoot Henderson and Toumani Camara each scored 14 points. Dalano Banton scored another 12 points off the bench.

Naz Reid shined off the bench for Minnesota, scoring a game-high 28 points on 10-for-17 shooting. But the rest of the bench, which has been a strength for the Wolves this year, was nowhere to be found. Donte DiVincenzo had more turnovers (4) than points (3). Nickeil Alexander-Walker had eight points and three steals, but also had two turnovers.

The Blazers’ bench outscored the Wolves’ bench 64-39.

The starting unit was no better. Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert each had four turnovers. McDaniels otherwise had a solid all-around game with 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Anthony Edwards finished the game with 26 points on 8-for-19 shooting, including 4-for-10 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over just once.

But ultimately the Wolves didn’t get to play on Tuesday night. They fell behind from the start and the Blazers capitalized on their early mistakes. It’s certainly not the start they were looking for in their first NBA Cup game.

You will quickly have a chance to wash it away. The two teams will meet again on Wednesday evening at 9 p.m. in Portland.