The Timberwolves open NBA Cup play with a 122-108 loss to the Trail Blazers, their second straight loss

PORTLAND, ORE. – Perhaps the Timberwolves took Portland too lightly after beating them 25-5 at home on Friday. Maybe sometime Tuesday night the Wolves would find the energy and get the win. Or maybe they're just not that good of a team.

The end result was a 122-108 loss to the Trail Blazers to open NBA Cup play, a defeat that surpassed Sunday's debacle against Miami as the worst defeat of the young season. If ever there was a 14-point loss that felt much worse, it was this one.

They were never particularly successful against one of the worst teams in the league, which just lost 45-5 to the Grizzlies. Both ends of the floor were a train wreck.

The Wolves committed 23 turnovers on offense and allowed Portland to shoot 51%. Julius Randle was just 3 of 9 and scored 11 points. Naz Reid led the Wolves with 28.

Seven Portland players finished in double figures, led by Jerami Grant with 21 points.

The teams will meet again on Wednesday evening at the Moda Center.

The Wolves began with one of their worst quarters of the season after a last-second loss to Miami on Sunday. They had more turnovers (seven) than field goals (six). Portland led 28-17 after the first game. The Wolves' starting lineup was stodgy to open the game and coach Chris Finch can usually rely on his bench to get the offense going. This didn't happen early.

The Wolves' offense woke up in the second quarter, but their defense did not. Naz Reid had 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the first half and Anthony Edwards finished the half with 14 after a quiet first quarter. But Portland finished the half shooting 52%. Two substitutes, Robert Williams (13 points) and Dalano Banton (12), scored in double figures. The Blazers led 60-53 at halftime. Wolves have regrouped after half-time in previous games due to poor defense, but things didn't get much better on Tuesday. The Wolves lost the third quarter 33-21 after committing seven more turnovers in the third quarter. Scoring kept coming in the fourth as Portland appeared to have a layup line to the basket and the Wolves were doing things like turning over on incoming passes.