Clingan and Sharpe lead Blazers to victory over Timberwolves

The Portland Trail Blazers earned a rare win against a good team on Tuesday night when they eliminated the Minnesota Timberwolves at home. On Wednesday, the same two teams played back-to-back for the second night. The book said the Timberwolves would come back with a vengeance and take out the Blazers with ease.

Portland hasn't read this book.

With the Blazers short-handed, without starters Anfernee Simons and Deandre Ayton and also missing reserve center Robert Williams III, the Timberwolves took them to school anyway. Portland's wings' outstanding defense, aided by rookie Donovan Clingan as the only center standing, led Portland to a surprising 106-98 victory.

Here are the factors that contributed to the win for Portland.

Clingan Strong

After the first few minutes of the game, Donovan Clingan did a great job of creating space and converting shots down the defensive line without picking up any fouls. It was his most stable defensive performance to date and also his most explosive. Clingan's defensive efforts in the second half were great. His teammates were long and defensive enough to slow the penetration. That was all he needed to refine himself. He even managed a flat-foot block against Rudy Gobert in the fourth quarter.

Clingan also made a few nice passes from the top of the field to the cutters in the second half. Pretty.

The rookie finished the game with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 8 blocks.

Temporary defensive problems

When Portland's defense works, it works pretty well. However, when this is not the case, it tends to be forgotten. This happened tonight under three circumstances.

The first came when Minnesota absolutely floored them. As we've said before, this is a big no-no, especially for a team as young and fast as the Blazers. However, the “Wolves” managed less with unhindered counterattacks than with quick strikes against individual, overwhelmed defenders.

The second error was due to defective switches. Because of their size and relatively similar defensive levels – particularly across the wing corps – Portland has adopted substitution as their tactic of choice against opposing screens. It works well enough when they have a healthy lineup. The absence of so many players affects their ability to put the plan into action. They will either be caught with a slow player like Clingan on the ball or with a small player like Scoot Henderson in the lane. They can get away with this against opposing second units. Against elite scorers like Anthony Edwards or hulking giants like Rudy Gobert, not so much.

On the rarer occasions when the Blazers actively sent help, it came with a quick pass to the open man or a simple offensive rebound by an unguarded Minnesota big.

When you put it all together, things were pretty easy for the Timberwolves for a while. They scored 33 points in the first quarter and seemed to run away from the game.

Little ball to the rescue

The cure for the above came from an unexpected source.

The Blazers performed well in the second period when they fielded a lineup of forwards, wingers and Scoot Henderson without a center. They remained strong in the middle areas of the lane and stopped penetration when the Timberwolves played one-on-one. When the ball stopped moving forward, Portland took advantage of the stall with busy hands, forcing steals and breakaways.

It was a big deal as the momentum continued for most of the rest of the game, even when Clingan returned as a true center. It's a reminder of how defensively active the Blazers' big guards and small forwards are. Being able to rotate multiple players between 6'6 and 6'9 really makes a difference for Portland's defense.

Kris Murray deserves special mention. He intervened on several defensive possessions, throwing his man to the point and forcing bail-outs or turnovers. It was a huge accomplishment for a lower rotation player.

Sharpe shooting

It's hard to pick a hero for Portland in a game where they performed like Super Friends, but Shaedon Sharpe was a one-man circus on the trail tonight. He seemed to know the Blazers lacked punch with Ayton and Simons sidelined. Shaedon confidently brought the ball to the rack, absorbing the contact and rising up for looks that ended up looking easy (though they certainly weren't). He saved the game for the Blazers late by swinging straight at Gobert and scoring on him repeatedly.

Sharpe finished with a team-leading 33 points in 36 minutes. It's nice to see his promise come true in a hard-fought duel.

Scoot pick and roll

Scoot Henderson probably wishes he could see Rudy Gobert at every game. Henderson and Clingan teamed up on several pick-and-roll plays, forcing the French center to help prevent penetration on the drive. Scoot's vision and passing were unfailing in these situations. Gobert was neither quick enough to stop Portland's point guard nor agile enough to get back to Clingan before the ball arrived. The resulting results were both sweet and crucial to Portland's midgame success.

Damian Lillard regularly grilled Gobert. It appears the Blazers have another point guard capable of doing it, just in a different way.

Henderson finished the game with 5 assists, albeit against 5 turnovers. For once, the former weighed more than the latter.

Color dots

Sharpe starred in the dunk-o-thon tonight, but he wasn't alone. This was the best game of the entire season in terms of flushes for the Blazers. A lack of centers on the home side and clunky pivots for the visitors led to open lanes and a lot of highlight reel material. This is a rare and welcome sight in Portland.

The Blazers scored 52 points in the lane tonight, edging out the bigger, more experienced and talented Timberwolves by 2 points.

Minny Threes

Portland benefited from the Wolves' great long-range shots this evening. Their contests were no better than last night, when Minnesota shot a respectable 37.1% from beyond the arc. The Wolves missed a number of open shots, much to Portland's delight.

Minnesota shot just 7-39, 17.9%, from distance in the game. Anthony Edwards, one of the league's most productive long-range shooters, shot 0-9.

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Box score

The Blazers now have several days off before facing the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday at 3 p.m. Pacific.