NBA Game Preview - Portland at Minnesota

Thu Jan 9, 2020 8:00 PM EST

Carmelo Anthony was on the outside looking in until the Portland Trail Blazers reached out.

And the 35-year-old forward is continuing to display he's not ready for that last hurrah.

Anthony scored a season-best 28 points and played the role of hero in Portland's win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. He will look to follow up with another strong showing when the Portland Trail Blazers visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.

The Trail Blazers rallied from a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit against Toronto, and the 101-99 victory was attained when Anthony knocked down the decisive 17-foot, straightaway jumper with 3.3 seconds remaining.

"I saw the defender close out on my right side, kind of gave me the whole left side to get to my spot," Anthony said afterward. "That shot is something that I work on day in and day out. ... I felt good, just wanted to get the release right, and I did."

Anthony is averaging 16.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 23 games with the Trail Blazers.

He has been a solid contributor, especially for a guy let loose after 10 early-season appearances for the Houston Rockets last season. Anthony averaged 13.4 points before being sent packing by Houston.

The 10-time All-Star then sat idle the rest of the campaign and remained unemployed until Portland signed him in mid-November.

All the chatter about whether Anthony could fit in with guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum has been set aside. Anthony has racked up eight 20-point outings while forming a cohesive bond with the duo, and he knocked down a season-high five 3-pointers against the Raptors.

Anthony has made 17 go-ahead field goals in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime, the most in the NBA since he entered the league in 2003, per ESPN.

"A guy with his type of ability, it's just a matter of opportunity," Lillard said afterward. "He had one guy guarding him, and he got to his spot. Once he got to his spot and I saw him raising up, I thought it was going in."

The comeback victory was just Portland's second in the past eight games. The club is 2-2 on a five-game excursion that concludes against the Timberwolves.

Minnesota was on the other side of the equation on Tuesday, as it let an eight-point lead with eight minutes left get away en route to suffering a 119-112 road loss against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Timberwolves gave up 68 second-half points, including 37 in the fourth quarter.

"I'm always disappointed when we lose," Minnesota coach Ryan Saunders told reporters. "But I guess you'd say I'm more disappointed in the fact that we gave up 37 points in the fourth quarter. Because that's something we've been able to hang our hats on."

Rookie shooting guard Jarrett Culver scored a season-best 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting as he continues to increase his production.

But it was hard for Culver to find joy in the performance after the club let the lead slip away.

"They had a couple (of players) get hot, and they spaced out the floor very well," Culver told reporters of the Grizzlies. "We still played hard. I feel like we missed a couple of rebounds that we could've gotten, but they made the plays at the end."

Part of the rebounding issues stem with the absence of All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns (knee). He is expected to miss his 12th straight game on Thursday.

Despite the loss to Memphis, the Timberwolves are 4-3 over their last seven games after enduring a season-long 11-game losing streak.

Minnesota suffered a 113-106 road loss in Portland on Dec. 21 despite receiving 33 points from small forward Andrew Wiggins. Lillard scored 29 for the Trail Blazers.

Portland has prevailed in six of the past seven meetings with the Timberwolves.

--Field Level Media