Kevin Love on fire again as Minnesota Timberwolves subdue Portland Trail Blazers 106 – 94 – NBA Recap
The Minnesota Timberwolves have enjoyed a good run of form recently which has seen them make into the Western Conference Playoffs spots. The man driving the Timberwolves charge is mercurial forward Kevin Love, and the talisman was on song once more against
the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
The Timberwolves, galvanized by a massive, 29 points and 16 rebounds, double-double effort by Kevin Love, beat the Trail Blazers 106 – 94 at the Target Center.
Love was once again the most dominant presence on the boards and hit 9-of-17 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Helping him along was guard Luke Ridnour, who scored 22 points and dished out 5 assists. Wesley Johnson also put in a noticeable performance with 19 points while Derrick Williams had 9 and 11 rebounds.
Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio was off colour once more, scoring just 8 with 4 assists.
Raymond Felton was the most potent weapon in Portland’s arsenal on the night, he scored a team high 23 points and had game high 9 assists. Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points with 7 rebounds while Gerald Wallace and Wesley Matthews both netted 13.
The game was off to a blistering start in an action packed first quarter. The Trail Blazers were hot early, going up 9 – 5 from jump ball. They extended their lead to 18 – 12 before the Timberwolves started to inch their way back into the contest. A late
9 – 2 run gave Minnesota the lead, 31 – 26, and the home side finished ahead at 37 – 31.
A 6 – 2 start to the second frame further consolidated Minnesota’s position. They looked strong until an 8 – 0 burst by the Trail Blazers levelled matters, 47 – 47. Some back and forth action followed but the Timberwolves managed to get ahead before the
halftime interval, going in at 61 – 54.
Minnesota came out firing after the break and took hold of the third stanza with some aggressive play. They took the lead into double digits on occasion and didn’t face much resistance from the Trail Blazers, closing out the period 81 – 72.
Portland made a sharp start in the final frame but a 7 – 2 burst restored Minnesota’s double-digit advantage, 90 – 80. A concerted charge from the Trail Blazers never materialized and the Timberwolves eased home at the end, 106 – 94.
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