MINNEAPOLIS -- The Portland Trail Blazers' six-game Thanksgiving trip has started off with very little to be thankful for.
The Minnesota Timberwolves steamrolled the Blazers 112-96 Friday night at the Target Center, handing Portland its second consecutive lopsided defeat at the beginning of a long holiday trip.
One game after watching helplessly as LeBron James bludgeoned them, the Blazers were yet again overmatched against a Timberwolves team rejuvenated by the trade of All-Star Jimmy Butler.
Minnesota (7-9) led by as many as 24 points and never trailed on a night the Blazers (10-5) played sloppy, uninspired and just plain bad.
SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS
The Blazers weren't particularly good at anything Friday night and they hurt themselves with a lot of self-inflicted damage.
The offense was sloppy and spotty as the Blazers committed 18 turnovers that led to 22 Minnesota points and shot a paltry 28 percent from three-point range (8 of 29). And the defense, which had been so good for most of the season, was leaky and inconsistent. Six Timberwolves reached double-figures in scoring as Minnesota shot 50 percent from the field.
And when the Blazers did get a stop, they often allowed the Timberwolves to corral the offensive rebound, surrendering extra possessions and, many times, free points.
Between the turnovers and second chances, Minnesota seized control early and carried a 55-43 lead at halftime, which was aided by eight offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points.
At one point in the second quarter, the Blazers committed turnovers on four consecutive possessions.
"We just gave them too many opportunities, either giving up the ball or giving the ball back on an offensive rebound," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "We dug the hole in the first half, basically, because of that."
TOP PERFORMERS
Andrew Wiggins finished with 23 points and five rebounds, Derrick Rose recorded 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Karl-Anthony Towns added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves, who won their third consecutive game since trading away the disgruntled Butler.
Jusuf Nurkic recorded his team-high eighth double-double (13 points and 11 rebounds) in a performance that sounds better than it looked.
OFF NIGHT FOR ALL-STAR
It was a night to forget for All-Star Damian Lillard, who had one of his worst performances of the season. He finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, but was ice-cold from the field and careless with the ball. Lillard made just 5 of 18 field goals, including 1 of 7 three-pointers, and committed five turnovers.
After the game, he was kicking himself for his miscues.
"The ball is in my hands a lot and the team counts on me to take care of the ball and make sure that we get quality possessions," he said. "And I didn't do a great job of that. Sometimes games go that way."
IT WAS OVER WHEN
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves had a wild possession in which three different Minnesota players played popcorn with the ball under the hoop, passing it around and around. Eventually, someone kicked it out to Rose on the perimeter.
After collecting the pass, Rose hesitated and then passed to Jeff Teague, who was wide open at the top of the key. The Timberwolves' starting point guard swished a three-pointer with 5:46 left, giving Minnesota a 102-78 lead.
Stotts called a timeout a second later and waived the white flag, emptying his bench with nearly half a quarter left.
ROOKIE JOINS ROTATION
With Seth Curry sidelined because of a right knee bruise, Stotts went in an unexpected direction with his player rotation.
Anfernee Simons inherited Curry's minutes, entering the game to start the second quarter and playing eight first-half minutes. The 19 year-old rookie shooting guard wasn't bashful, attempting his first shot on the Blazers' first possession of the second quarter, and he didn't let an open look pass without an attempt.
Simons scored his first basket with 7:02 left in the first half, finishing a nice driving layup around Robert Covington near the end of the shot clock, and ended the first half with four points and two rebounds on 2-for-5 shooting.
Simons, who also played in mop-up time Friday night, finished with seven points and three rebounds, while making 3 of 7 shots.
"They obviously preach to me to be aggressive," Simons said. "I wanted to come in there and not try to do too much, but once the opportunity was there, take the shot and just live with the results."
PRINCE NIGHT
Minnesota honored music icon Prince throughout the game, adding a little soul and whole lot of purple to the Target Center.
The highlight included the debut of Prince-inspired purple jerseys, worn by the Timberwolves, but there were a host of promotions and special Prince-themed videos during the game. Prince's songs were played all night, during timeouts, in-game promotions and even live action, as "When Doves Cry" and "Raspberry Beret" and countless other hits filled the arena.
The team even had Kevin Garnett, their former star player, on hand sitting courtside and wearing one of those smooth purple jerseys.
Why all the love for Prince? The iconic musician, who died in 2016, is a Minneapolis native.
NEXT UP
The Blazers visit the Washington Wizards Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Verizon Center. It's the second and final meeting between the teams this season and the third game of the Blazers' six-game trip.
Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman
