Williams and Grant help the Trail Blazers beat the Timberwolves 122-108

PORTLAND, Ore. – Robert Williams and Jerami Grant each scored 19 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 122-108 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday evening.

Williams, who recently returned from a knee injury, also had nine rebounds and three assists.

Naz Reid led Minnesota with 28 points in the loss, while star guard Anthony Edwards scored 26 points.

The Blazers, who entered the game as the NBA’s second-worst 3-point shooting team, shot a stunning 18 for 32 (56%) from behind the 3-point line.

The Blazers took a 28-17 lead after the first quarter, capped by a 3-pointer from Dalano Banton at the buzzer. Banton came into the game after Portland lost Anfernee Simons for the game with a pectoral injury and his replacement, Scoot Henderson, suffered three fouls in the first quarter.

Takeaways

Timberwolves: Minnesota entered the Cup game on Tuesday lost a lead of 88:80 in the final five minutes against the Miami Heat on Sunday. Their coach Chris Finch blamed himself for the defeat. “I take responsibility for the entire game, it was a total collapse in many ways. I didn’t have enough answers for the zone,” Finch said. “It wasn’t so much a late game thing as I thought the zone was really suffocating us.”

Blazers: Donovan Clingan made his first start in his NBA career on Tuesday night, replacing Deandre Ayton, who missed the game with a sprained finger. He started the game with a block on Rudy Gobert on the game’s opening play and secured a steal a few possessions later.

Key moment

Portland had two 3-pointers that beat the buzzer at the end of the quarter, one from Banton to close the first quarter and another from Deni Avdija to close the third quarter.

Key statistics

The Blazers dominated bench points in Tuesday night’s game, outscoring Minnesota 64-39.