Anthony, Lillard lift Blazers over Timberwolves 125-121

<p>MINNEAPOLIS &mdash; Carmelo Anthony scored 26 points and Damian Lillard added 25 points and 10 assists as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-121 on Saturday night.</p>
<p>Enes Kanter had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Portland.</p>
<p>Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 34 points and 10 rebounds, while rookie Anthony Edwards had 21 points and eight boards. The Timberwolves have lost 14 of 16 and are 1-6 under new coach Chris Finch.</p>
<p>Lillard, the NBA’s third-leading scorer at 29.9 points per game, was held to 10 on 2-of-6 shooting in the first half, but Portland still led 66-57 at the break. </p>
<p>Towns scored 13 points in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the second half, including nine in a 12-0 run that tied the game at 76.</p>
<p>Portland quickly regained control, as Lillard hit a long 2-pointer and set up Gary Trent Jr. for a 3 that put the Blazers up 83-76.</p>
<p>But the Timberwolves wouldn’t go away. Naz Reid, giving Towns a breather, scored six points and Jaden McDaniels hit a 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left in the quarter to give Minnesota a 94-93 lead heading into the fourth.</p>
<p>Then it was Anthony who took over. He hit a baseline jumper and a pair of 3-pointers, and Anfernee Simons also hit two 3s to give Portland a 109-103 lead.</p>
<p>Down the stretch, Anthony hit a step-back jumper to put the Blazers up 118-115, and with the Wolves still trailing by three, the 17-year veteran found Derrick Jones Jr. alone under the hoop for a dunk that sunk Minnesota’s comeback hopes.</p>
<p>TIP-INS</p>
<p>Trail Blazers: Kanter matched his season average of 12 points per game in the first eight minutes. … Lillard is the only player in the NBA this season averaging at least 29 points and seven assists. … Anthony passed Hakeem Olajuwon for 11th on the NBA’s career scoring list. </p>
<p>Timberwolves: Jaylen Nowell, who scored a career-high 28 points on Thursday in a victory over New Orleans, followed that performance with 17 points in 28 minutes off the bench. … Minnesota continues to play without its second-leading scorer, guard Malik Beasley, who is serving a 12-game suspension after pleading guilty to a felony count of threats of violence stemming from an incident in September. Beasley is eligible to return on March 27. He’s averaging 20.5 points per game.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>The teams face each other again in Minneapolis on Sunday night.</p>
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