Minnesota faces Portland on 5-game road slide
Minnesota Timberwolves (10-17, 12th in the Western Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (13-16, eighth in the Western Conference)
Portland; Saturday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota hits the road against Portland looking to break its five-game road losing streak.
The Trail Blazers are 8-11 in Western Conference games. Portland ranks fourth in the Western Conference in rebounding averaging 46.8 rebounds. Hassan Whiteside leads the Trail Blazers with 13.1 boards.
The Timberwolves are 1-5 against the rest of their division. Minnesota averages 15.3 turnovers per game and is 3-9 when committing more turnovers than opponents.
The teams match up Saturday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Damian Lillard is shooting 45 percent and averaging 26.9 points. CJ McCollum has averaged 22.7 points and totaled 4.8 rebounds while shooting 50.6 percent over the last 10 games for Portland.
Andrew Wiggins ranks second on the Timberwolves averaging 24.8 points and has added 5.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Robert Covington has averaged 5.1 rebounds and added 12.6 points per game over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
LAST 10 GAMES: Trail Blazers: 6-4, averaging 110.5 points, 47.1 rebounds, 20.2 assists, 6.2 steals and 8.1 blocks per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.6 points on 43.1 percent shooting.
Timberwolves: 1-9, averaging 112.7 points, 43.4 rebounds, 21.4 assists, seven steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 44.3 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 121 points on 49.7 percent shooting.
INJURIES: Trail Blazers: Carmelo Anthony: day to day (knee), Nassir Little: day to day (back), Jusuf Nurkic: out (leg fracture), Zach Collins: out (left shoulder dislocation), Rodney Hood: out for season (leg).
Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns: day to day (left knee), Jake Layman: day to day (toe).
