Damian Lillard strikes again as Blazers dismantle Wolves

Damian Lillard matched his career high of 11 3-pointers and scored 38 points in three quarters of action to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to an easy 133-112 wire-to-wire victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night. Lillard missed just six of his 17 3-point attempts to reach his franchise-record total of 11 for the third time. He also made 12 in a playoff game against the Denver Nuggets in a first-round series on June 1, 2021. Jerami Grant added 24 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 16 rebounds as Portland completed a two-game sweep of Minnesota. Shaedon Sharpe had 14 points and Anfernee Simons added 12 for the Trail Blazers. D'Angelo Russell recorded 23 points and eight assists for the Timberwolves, who are 1-2 on their five-game road trip. Anthony Edwards and Jaylen Nowell scored 17 points apiece and Rudy Gobert contributed 16 points and 20 rebounds for Minnesota. The Trail Blazers won the first contest with the Timberwolves 124-118 on Friday behind Lillard's 36 points. Portland connected on 53.9 percent of its shots, including 21 of 46 from 3-point range. The Trail Blazers held a 54-37 rebounding advantage. Naz Reid scored 10 points for the Timberwolves, who made 49.5 percent of their attempts and were 10 of 27 from behind the arc. Lillard made three 3-pointers during the third quarter, the last tying his regular-season high with 5:45 left in the period. Minnesota responded with a 10-3 run to move within 91-80 before the Trail Blazers rattled off 13 straight points. Grant made two treys during the spurt, including the ending one to give Portland a 24-point advantage with 1:17 left. The Trail Blazers led 106-84 entering the final stanza and a 3-pointer by Simons boosted the lead to 27 with 9:36 left. Portland cruised the rest of the way. Lillard was 8 of 10 from 3-point range while scoring 27 first-half points as the Trail Blazers held a 70-59 lead at the break. Lillard had 10 points in the first quarter as Portland led 33-27. He then scored 17 points -- making five 3-pointers -- in the second quarter. Russell scored 15 points and Gobert had 10 points and 15 rebounds in the first half for Minnesota. --Field Level Media