Julius Randle scored 41 points on 14-for-24 shooting, and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 133-109 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
Jaden McDaniels added 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting for Minnesota, which enters the NBA All-Star break with back-to-back victories. Rudy Gobert finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, and Anthony Edwards scored 14 points.
Jrue Holiday scored 23 points and made five 3-pointers to lead Portland, ending their three-game winning streak. Scoot Henderson added 18 points, and Vit Krejci contributed 17 points.
The Timberwolves shot 51.1% (45 of 88) from the field and 41.2% (14 of 34) from 3-point range. The Trail Blazers shot 42.6% (40 of 94) overall and 35.6% (16 of 45) from long distance.
Portland never led, and the Timberwolves stretched their advantage to as many as 28 points in the second half.
Holiday kept the Trail Blazers within single digits early in the second half. He made a floating bank shot to cut the deficit to 67-59 with 8:57 to go in the third quarter.
The Timberwolves responded with a 12-0 run to increase their lead to 20 points. Edwards and Randle made back-to-back 3-pointers to start the run, which also included a free throw by Gobert, another 3-pointer by Randle and a dunk by Gobert.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch turned to his reserves for the final five minutes with the score well out of reach.
Minnesota built a 61-51 lead at the half.
The Timberwolves led by as many as 16 points before the break. Randle made a driving layup to put Minnesota on top 48-32 with 6:41 remaining.
Portland quickly cut the deficit to 10 points thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by Holiday. Deni Avdija assisted on the first 3-pointer and Jerami Grant assisted on the second.
Before the game, the NBA fined Timberwolves big man Naz Reid $35,000 for his role in an on-court altercation with Atlanta Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye two days earlier. The fine did not seem to affect Reid, who finished with 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting with seven rebounds against Portland.
