PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The Portland Trail Blazers had the home crowd fired up for this year’s season opener before Minnesota rallied in the final minutes to steal the 118-114 win Wednesday night at Moda Center.
The Trail Blazers stayed a step ahead most of the night and enjoyed their largest lead of the night at 103-95 after Jerami Grant knocked down a 3-pointer with 9:14 to play.
But Portland would miss its next five shots and fumble the ball away on another possession, suffering through a three-minute dry spell that opened the door for the Timberwolves.
Anthony Edwards hit a deep 3 to put Minnesota up 108-107 with 3:36 left — the Timberwolves first lead since the first quarter.
The teams traded the lead four times down the stretch with Rudy Gobert scoring on a putback dunk with 0:32 left to supply the winning points.
Edwards finished with a game-high 41 points, while Grant paced Portland with 29.
The biggest disparity in the game came from the 3-point arc where Minnesota shot 15 of 30 (50%), while Portland shot 13 for 42 (31%) from deep.
Portland is back in action at home at 7 p.m. Friday against Golden State.