Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said his team made “just about every mistake you can make” to blow an eight-point lead late in Sunday’s loss to the Miami Heat. Turnovers, disjointed offense and defensive failures were a theme.

Tuesday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers started the same way. In the first quarter alone, the Wolves turned the game over seven times and quickly fell behind by double digits. The mistakes continued, the offense couldn’t find a rhythm and they also couldn’t string together stops defensively in a 122-108 loss to the Blazers at Moda Center in Portland.

To make matters worse, Tuesday night’s game was the Timberwolves’ first group game in the NBA Cup, the league’s annual seasonal tournament that started last season. And the Blazers weren’t at full strength. Starting big man Deandre Ayton was ruled out with a finger sprain, and guard Anfernee Simons left in the first quarter and did not return.

That didn’t stop Portland from controlling Tuesday night’s game from start to finish.

The Trail Blazers (4-8) came into Sunday’s game fresh off an embarrassing 134-89 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies and came out motivated. Portland is a team that struggled in the opening quarters, only scoring about 20 points per game in the opening frame, but they took advantage of Wolves turnovers to lead 28-17 after 12 minutes.

Against the Heat, the Wolves (6-5) nearly matched a season high with 19 turnovers as a team. On Tuesday, they hit a new season high with 21 giveaways. They shot a strong 51%, but turnovers resulted in 25 points for the Trail Blazers.

The Wolves were outgunned on the glass and lost the rebounding battle 39-32. Once again they struggled to give up offensive rebounds as the Trail Blazers picked up 11 of their own misses. The defensive intensity just wasn’t there.

The entire Trail Blazers roster was the beneficiary. Seven Portland players finished in double figures, led by Jeremi Grant’s 21. Robert Williams III had 19 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avidja – who hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer late in the third quarter – finished with 17 points apiece.

Scoot Henderson and Toumani Camara each scored 14. Dalano Banton added another 12 from the bench.

Naz Reid shined off the bench for Minnesota, scoring a game-high 28 points on 10-for-17 shooting. But the rest of the bench, which has been a strength for the Wolves this year, was nowhere to be seen. Donte DiVincenzo had more turnovers (4) than points (3). Nickeil Alexander-Walker had eight points and three steals, but also had a pair of turnovers.

The Blazers bench defeated the Wolves bench 64-39.

The starting block wasn’t much better. Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert each had four turnovers. McDaniels also had a solid all-around game with 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Anthony Edwards finished with 26 points on 8-for-19 shooting, including 4 for 10 from 3-point range, and turned it over just once.

But in the end, the Wolves didn’t play Tuesday night. They fell behind from the start and the Blazers took advantage of their early mistakes. It’s certainly not the start they were looking for in their first NBA Cup game.

They will soon have a chance to flush it. The two teams meet again in Portland on Wednesday night at 9 p.m.