THE Trail Blazers took charge early and cruised to a 112-110 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday in Portland (Sunday, Manila time).
CJ McCollum showed the way for the Blazers, who held the Timberwolves scoreless for almost three minutes in the opening quarter and took a 27-21 lead on the way to their second straight win.
The Blazers, coming off a win over the New York Knicks, notched their 34th win in 72 games.
McCollum scored 32 on 11 of 13 shooting, including 4 for 5 from beyond the arc.
Damian Lillard went 8 for 13 and wound up with 21 points, while Jusuf Nurkic scored 14.
The Timberwolves suffered their sixth straight loss.
Andrew Wiggins scored 20, while Karl-Anthony Towns and Ricky Rubio had 16 points each, both going 6 for 11.
Minnesota absorbed its 44th loss in 72 outings.