Sharpe scores 27 points, Trail Blazers edge Timberwolves
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Shaedon Sharpe scored 27 points, Kevin Knox II added 19 points and the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers beat the playoff-hopeful Minnesota Timberwolves 107-105 on Sunday.
Trendon Watford had 15 points and Skylar Mays finished with 13 points and nine assists in his second game with Portland, which had lost 11 of 12 and was without four regular starters.
The Trail Blazers trailed by 12 late in the third quarter before rallying to beat Minnesota, which started the day ninth in the Western Conference.
“Every single person that got out on that floor tonight, they gave it all they had and that’s all I want from our guys,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. “To play as hard as you can, play unselfish and be a good teammate and see what happens."
Anthony Edwards scored 37 points for the Timberwolves, who have lost three in a row and started the day a half-game behind the Los Angeles Lakers and a game ahead of Oklahoma City for the 10th and the final play-in spot in the West.
“We have too many guys not playing really well right now,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “This was kind of who we’ve been all season in these types of games and we do it again. You know, obviously, timing of it is extra painful, but we got to get guys playing better.”
While they’re in the running for the playoffs, the Timberwolves are 5-10 against the five teams with the worst records in the NBA.
“We always fall short, it seems,” Edwards said of struggles against the bottom teams. “It always haunts us. And tonight, once again, yep.”
Edwards’ dunk gave Minnesota an 84-72 lead with 3:37 left in the third quarter before the Trail Blazers went on a 19-4 run to take a fourth-quarter lead with 7:57 left. The Timberwolves shot 6 of 17 in the fourth and Portland outscored them by six.
“I think we executed plays,” said Mays, a 2020 second-round draft pick by Atlanta who signed a 10-day contract with the Trail Blazers on March 30. “I think we defended and made shots tough on them and attacked mismatches. I thought we were pretty good.”
Edwards put Minnesota ahead with 2:22 left, but Sharpe converted a lay-up on the other end. Sharpe, the rookie who was the No. 7 overall draft pick, scored six points during an 8-3 run.
“He’s just growing up, man,” Billups said. “He’s just growing up and it’s fun watching him.”
Trailing by two, the Timberwolves couldn’t get a clean shot off on their final possession as Anderson's wayward attempt landed on top of the backboard.
“You have to have the appropriate fear in this league and a respect for, I don’t want to say these type of teams, but the teams that ain’t doing so well,” Anderson said. “We got to be able to handle business.”
TOUGH FINISH
Portland was 26-26 on Feb. 3 and had won five of six, firmly in the playoff race. Five days later, the Blazers made moves at the trade deadline to acquire Knox, Cam Reddish, Matisse Thybulle and Ryan Arcidiacono while trading Josh Hart and Gary Payton Jr.
They went 5-17 following the trade deadline. Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic have missed six games in a row, Anfernee Simons has been out for seven straight and Jerami Grant missed his 10th in a row on Sunday.
Without Reddish (lumbar soreness) and Nasir Little (left ankle sprain) on Sunday, the Trail Blazers were missing nine of their top 12 scorers in total points this season either due to injury or trades.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Portland scored 21 points off 18 Minnesota turnovers. The Blazers only had 10 turnovers and also had 25 fast-break points. ... Jeenathan Williams made his Portland debut with seven points in 13 minutes.
Timberwolves: An illness has gone through the team. Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns were questionable because of illness and Austin Rivers missed the game with the issue. Towns finished with eight points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes. ... Naz Reid missed his second game with a broken bone in his left wrist. ... Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: At Memphis on Tuesday night.
Timberwolves: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night. ---
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
12:00 | Drew Eubanks vs. Rudy Gobert (Karl-Anthony Towns gains possession) | |||
11:47 | Anthony Edwards misses three point jump shot | |||
11:43 | Shaedon Sharpe defensive rebound | |||
11:31 | +2 | Skylar Mays makes two point driving floating jump shot (Shaedon Sharpe assists) | 2-0 | |
11:18 | +3 | Jaden McDaniels makes three point jump shot (Mike Conley assists) | 2-3 | |
10:57 | +2 | Trendon Watford makes two point pullup jump shot (Shaedon Sharpe assists) | 4-3 | |
10:40 | Jaden McDaniels turnover (bad pass) (Matisse Thybulle steals) | |||
10:36 | Matisse Thybulle misses two point running layup | |||
10:36 | Shaedon Sharpe offensive rebound | |||
10:36 | Jaden McDaniels shooting foul (Shaedon Sharpe draws the foul) | |||
10:36 | +1 | Shaedon Sharpe makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 5-3 | |
10:36 | +1 | Shaedon Sharpe makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 6-3 | |
10:22 | Skylar Mays personal foul (Rudy Gobert draws the foul) | |||
10:13 | +2 | Anthony Edwards makes two point driving layup (Karl-Anthony Towns assists) | 6-5 | |
10:01 | +2 | Trendon Watford makes two point driving bank hook shot | 8-5 | |
9:43 | Anthony Edwards turnover (bad pass) (Drew Eubanks steals) | |||
9:28 | +2 | Trendon Watford makes two point pullup jump shot (Skylar Mays assists) | 10-5 | |
9:12 | Anthony Edwards misses three point jump shot | |||
9:09 | Matisse Thybulle defensive rebound | |||
9:00 | Shaedon Sharpe misses three point pullup jump shot | |||
8:56 | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | |||
8:51 | +3 | Mike Conley makes three point running jump shot (Anthony Edwards assists) | 10-8 | |
8:30 | Shaedon Sharpe misses two point driving dunk | |||
8:29 | Anthony Edwards defensive rebound | |||
8:25 | Anthony Edwards misses two point pullup bank jump shot | |||
8:24 | Trail Blazers defensive rebound | |||
8:17 | Trendon Watford misses three point jump shot | |||
8:15 | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | |||
8:00 | Matisse Thybulle personal foul (Karl-Anthony Towns draws the foul) | |||
7:53 | Karl-Anthony Towns misses two point floating jump shot | |||
7:51 | Drew Eubanks defensive rebound | |||
7:38 | Shaedon Sharpe misses two point pullup jump shot | |||
7:36 | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | |||
7:13 | Rudy Gobert misses two point jump shot | |||
7:12 | Shaedon Sharpe defensive rebound | |||
6:59 | +2 | Drew Eubanks makes two point alley-oop dunk (Trendon Watford assists) | 12-8 | |
6:58 | Timberwolves 60 second timeout | |||
6:43 | Anthony Edwards misses two point driving layup | |||
6:41 | Rudy Gobert offensive rebound | |||
6:41 | +2 | Rudy Gobert makes two point tip dunk | 12-10 | |
6:28 | +2 | Trendon Watford makes two point driving floating jump shot (Skylar Mays assists) | 14-10 | |
6:12 | Anthony Edwards turnover (bad pass) (Matisse Thybulle steals) | |||
6:02 | +2 | Skylar Mays makes two point driving floating jump shot | 16-10 | |
5:48 | +2 | Jaden McDaniels makes two point driving layup (Anthony Edwards assists) | 16-12 | |
5:30 | +2 | Drew Eubanks makes two point pullup jump shot (Shaedon Sharpe assists) | 18-12 | |
5:06 | Drew Eubanks personal foul (Rudy Gobert draws the foul) | |||
4:58 | +2 | Kyle Anderson makes two point turnaround jump shot (Anthony Edwards assists) | 18-14 | |
4:42 | +3 | Drew Eubanks makes three point jump shot (Shaquille Harrison assists) | 21-14 | |
4:21 | Kyle Anderson misses three point jump shot | |||
4:18 | Drew Eubanks defensive rebound | |||
4:15 | Drew Eubanks turnover (bad pass) (Jaden McDaniels steals) | |||
4:10 | +3 | Mike Conley makes three point running jump shot (Jaden McDaniels assists) | 21-17 | |
3:54 | Rudy Gobert shooting foul (Shaedon Sharpe draws the foul) | |||
3:54 | +1 | Shaedon Sharpe makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 22-17 | |
3:54 | Shaedon Sharpe misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
3:52 | Kyle Anderson defensive rebound | |||
3:46 | Anthony Edwards misses two point running layup | |||
3:45 | Drew Eubanks defensive rebound | |||
3:42 | +2 | Shaquille Harrison makes two point running layup | 24-17 | |
3:42 | Mike Conley shooting foul (Shaquille Harrison draws the foul) | |||
3:42 | Shaquille Harrison misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
3:40 | Kyle Anderson defensive rebound | |||
3:19 | +2 | Anthony Edwards makes two point reverse layup (Kyle Anderson assists) | 24-19 | |
3:01 | John Butler Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
2:58 | Kyle Anderson defensive rebound | |||
2:55 | +2 | Anthony Edwards makes two point running layup | 24-21 | |
2:55 | Shaedon Sharpe shooting foul (Anthony Edwards draws the foul) | |||
2:55 | Trail Blazers 60 second timeout | |||
2:55 | +1 | Anthony Edwards makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 24-22 | |
2:43 | Kevin Knox II turnover (out of bounds step) | |||
2:31 | Jabari Walker personal foul (Karl-Anthony Towns draws the foul) | |||
2:31 | +1 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 24-23 | |
2:31 | +1 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 24-24 | |
2:17 | Kevin Knox II misses three point stepback jump shot | |||
2:15 | Taurean Prince defensive rebound | |||
2:13 | Taurean Prince turnover (bad pass) (Shaquille Harrison steals) | |||
2:08 | Jabari Walker misses three point pullup jump shot | |||
2:03 | John Butler Jr. offensive rebound | |||
2:03 | John Butler Jr. misses two point tip layup | |||
2:02 | Anthony Edwards defensive rebound | |||
1:58 | Jordan McLaughlin turnover (bad pass) (Kevin Knox II steals) | |||
1:49 | Shaquille Harrison misses two point stepback jump shot | |||
1:46 | Jeenathan Williams offensive rebound | |||
1:46 | Jeenathan Williams misses two point tip layup | |||
1:46 | Kevin Knox II offensive rebound | |||
1:46 | +2 | Kevin Knox II makes two point tip layup | 26-24 | |
1:30 | +2 | Anthony Edwards makes two point driving layup (Karl-Anthony Towns assists) | 26-26 | |
1:16 | Jabari Walker misses two point cutting layup | |||
1:15 | Jabari Walker offensive rebound | |||
1:15 | +2 | Jabari Walker makes two point tip layup | 28-26 | |
1:08 | Kyle Anderson turnover (bad pass) (Kevin Knox II steals) | |||
1:03 | Karl-Anthony Towns shooting foul (Kevin Knox II draws the foul) | |||
1:03 | +1 | Kevin Knox II makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 29-26 | |
1:03 | Kevin Knox II misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
1:02 | Trail Blazers offensive rebound | |||
0:48 | +2 | John Butler Jr. makes two point bank jump shot (Shaquille Harrison assists) | 31-26 | |
0:41 | Kevin Knox II shooting foul (Karl-Anthony Towns draws the foul) | |||
0:41 | +1 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 31-27 | |
0:41 | +1 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 31-28 | |
0:33 | Shaquille Harrison misses three point pullup jump shot | |||
0:30 | Jeenathan Williams offensive rebound | |||
0:19 | Jeenathan Williams offensive foul (Karl-Anthony Towns draws the foul) | |||
0:19 | Jeenathan Williams turnover (offensive foul) | |||
0:02 | Jabari Walker shooting foul (Karl-Anthony Towns draws the foul) | |||
0:02 | Karl-Anthony Towns misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
0:02 | Timberwolves offensive rebound | |||
0:02 | +1 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 31-29 | |
0:00 | End of period |
Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
11:38 | Kevin Knox II misses two point stepback jump shot | |||
11:34 | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | |||
11:19 | Shaquille Harrison shooting foul (Nickeil Alexander-Walker draws the foul) | |||
11:19 | +1 | Nickeil Alexander-Walker makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 31-30 | |
11:19 | +1 | Nickeil Alexander-Walker makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 31-31 | |
10:59 | Jabari Walker misses two point hook shot | |||
10:57 | Kyle Anderson defensive rebound | |||
10:53 | Taurean Prince misses two point running layup | |||
10:52 | Timberwolves offensive rebound | |||
10:51 | +2 | Nickeil Alexander-Walker makes two point cutting layup (Jordan McLaughlin assists) | 31-33 | |
10:51 | Jeenathan Williams shooting foul (Nickeil Alexander-Walker draws the foul) | |||
10:51 | Nickeil Alexander-Walker misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
10:49 | Karl-Anthony Towns offensive rebound | |||
10:48 | Nickeil Alexander-Walker misses two point jump shot | |||
10:47 | Trail Blazers defensive rebound | |||
10:35 | Kyle Anderson personal foul (Jabari Walker draws the foul) | |||
10:21 | +2 | Kevin Knox II makes two point cutting dunk (Skylar Mays assists) | 33-33 | |
10:07 | Jeenathan Williams shooting foul (Karl-Anthony Towns draws the foul) | |||
10:07 | Karl-Anthony Towns misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
10:07 | Timberwolves offensive rebound | |||
10:07 | Karl-Anthony Towns misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
10:05 | Jabari Walker defensive rebound | |||
9:56 | +3 | Shaedon Sharpe makes three point pullup jump shot (Skylar Mays assists) | 36-33 | |
9:44 | Karl-Anthony Towns turnover (out of bounds lost ball) | |||
9:34 | Shaedon Sharpe misses two point driving bank hook shot | |||
9:32 | Timberwolves defensive rebound | |||
9:32 | Jabari Walker personal foul (Loose ball) (Jaden McDaniels draws the foul) | |||
9:23 | +3 | Nickeil Alexander-Walker makes three point pullup jump shot | 36-36 | |
9:06 | Shaedon Sharpe misses three point stepback jump shot | |||
9:03 | Nickeil Alexander-Walker defensive rebound | |||
8:55 | Taurean Prince misses two point driving layup | |||
8:53 | Shaedon Sharpe defensive rebound | |||
8:49 | +3 | John Butler Jr. makes three point running jump shot (Shaedon Sharpe assists) | 39-36 | |
8:31 | Taurean Prince misses three point jump shot | |||
8:29 | Kevin Knox II defensive rebound | |||
8:18 | Drew Eubanks offensive foul (Nickeil Alexander-Walker draws the foul) | |||
8:18 | Drew Eubanks turnover (offensive foul) | |||
8:09 | +2 | Kyle Anderson makes two point floating jump shot (Mike Conley assists) | 39-38 | |
7:48 | +3 | Shaedon Sharpe makes three point stepback jump shot (Drew Eubanks assists) | 42-38 | |
7:32 | +2 | Kyle Anderson makes two point turnaround jump shot (Nickeil Alexander-Walker assists) | 42-40 | |
7:13 | Shaedon Sharpe misses three point jump shot | |||
7:10 | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | |||
7:10 | Timberwolves 60 second timeout | |||
6:51 |