Randolph helps Wolves defeat Blazers - wolvesjr34's Dynasty

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Randolph helps Wolves defeat Blazers

Posted on June 4, 2011 at 09:36 AM.

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Randolph scored 19 in the first quarter against the Blazers

January 7th, 2011. The Portland Trail Blazers arrived at Target Center looking to try and consolidate their push for the playoffs. Their intentions were not rewarded early on, with Anthony Randolph going on a tear and scoring 19 of the Wolves first 23 points as the Wolves took a 23 to 14 point lead after the first. Randolph looked to attack the Blazers big men and went to the line for nine free throw attempts in the first period, hitting all nine shots. Wesley Johnson scored the other four points for the quarter for the Wolves and Deandre Jordan had three blocks in the quarter, he would finish with five for the game.

The Trail Blazers came out harder in the second period and worked hard at both ends of the court, with LaMarcus Aldridge pushing his way to 18 points at the half, as the Blazers cut the deficit by 6 at half time. Anthony Randolph continued his domination, despite double teams from the opposition, adding another 10 points to go into the half with 29 points on the night. The Wolves led 43 to 40 at the main break.

The third quarter was a difficult one for the Wolves, with Beasley battling foul trouble and Randolph being shut down by the defence, the Wolves battled hard and the only light came from Webster who scored 10 points in the period (his only 10 for the game), as Brandon Roy and the Blazers again won the period by five points to lead 66 to 64 going into the final period. Luke Babbit had his own cameo, scoring nine points from perfect field shooting in a surprising effort from the draft pick traded with Ryan Gomes for Martell Webster at the beginning of the season.

The fourth quarter was a back and forth affair, which started with the Blazers pushing out to a five point lead, only to watch the Wolves take the lead back. The Blazers tied the game many times as they attempted to retake the lead and coming into the last two minutes, up by two the Timberwolves Michael Beasley drove the lane and went down hard, with what has now been confirmed as a broken wrist. Anthony Randolph subbed back in and calmly hit two free throws to push the gap to four points (and his tally for the night out to 33). Try as the Blazers may, despite clutch three's from Batum and Roy, they could not bridge the final gap and the Wolves won 100 to 96 in what proved to be a very interesting game.

The obvious bad news for the Wolves being the injury to Michael Beasley, with doctors expecting him to be out four to six weeks. The only shining light is that team doctors anticipate Kevin Love will be back within two weeks, as he now presses to prove his fitness. He will struggle to get a game though, with the Wolves coaches and medical staff having proved already that unless a player is completely healthy, they will not be risked.

Randolph and Jordan had 9 blocks between them in a dominating performance.

Game Notes: Jordan finished with 5 blocks and Randolph added 4 blocks to his 33 point effort. Wes Johnson scored 14 points to be the best of the rest for the Wolves, while Flynn added 10 and 10 to notch a double double. Rider continues to struggle, scoring 11 points from 5 of 12 shooting. For Portland Aldridge finished with 22 points and 3 steals, while Brandon Roy scored 18 points while dishing 5 assists. Camby scored 13 points and fell one board shy of a double-double with 9.

Season Record: 28 - 9.