PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) 鈥� Damian Lillard had 36 points and eight assists, Anfernee Simons added 31 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-118 on Saturday night.
Portland overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to beat Minnesota in the opener of a two-game set. They will meet again in Portland on Monday night.
Jerami Grant added 17 points for Portland, and Jusuf Nurkic had 15 rebounds. Drew Eubanks scored 10 points, two on a ferocious dunk on Rudy Gobert.
鈥淚 was just like Drew is bouncy, but Rudy Gobert like he鈥檚 so tall and long, he always get to it. He always kind of stands under the rim so I said, `Let鈥檚 see how this one go,鈥欌�� Lillard said about Eubanks' slam. 鈥淎nd he got 鈥檈m!鈥�
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 26 points, and Gobert and D鈥橝ngelo Russell had 24 points apiece.
Portland鈥檚 third-quarter rally started on the defensive end, but there was no big strategic adjustments. Rather, it was the players who sparked the defensive change in themselves.
鈥淚 think it was our guys in the huddle challenging each other,鈥� Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said about what changed defensively. 鈥淭hey were pretty upset with each other giving up baskets so easily. By the way, (Minnesota) can do that to you. They can make you look that way. But at the same time our guys had a lot of pride. It was really them. It wasn鈥檛 me, it was them talking to each other.鈥�
鈥淲e know we had to pick it up, that鈥檚 the biggest thing,鈥� Blazers guard Josh Hart said about Portland鈥檚 defense. 鈥淲e know they made shots but you got to be better defensively. That鈥檚 how we we鈥檙e going to win games, that鈥檚 how we play fast and we鈥檙e a tough team to beat when we do that.鈥�
The Trail Blazers rallied to take a 94-92 advantage into the fourth quarter. Lillard was a big reason why, scoring 12 points in the third quarter.
Lillard was 15 of 15 from the free-throw line as the Blazers outscored Minnesota 25-18 at the foul line.
鈥淭here were a bunch of times where we didn鈥檛 have to foul,鈥� Minnesota鈥檚 Naz Reid said after the game.
The Blazers also had a massive advantage in second-chance points, 22-4.
After scoring 40 points Thursday night in a loss to Denver, Lillard was hot again, scoring 11 points in the first quarter to help the Blazers take a 32-27 lead.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Minnesota guard Jordan McLaughlin sat out because of a strained calf. Coach Chris Finch said McLaughlin鈥檚 status is 鈥渄ay-to-day.鈥�
Trail Blazers: Guard Gary Payton II has yet to play this season in a comeback from core muscle surgery. Payton is participating in 3-on-3, but does not have a designated date to return. 鈥淗e was pretty sore after he plays, but I鈥檓 just happy to see him on the court,鈥� Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy to see him on the court, which means obviously he鈥檚 getting closer.鈥�
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Erik Garc铆a Gundersen, The Associated Press
