Portland big man Robert Williams III just returned from a 12-month absence due to a serious knee injury.

He quickly shows why the Trail Blazers missed him so much last season.

Williams dominated the first game of a back-to-back set with the Minnesota Timberwolves and will look to repeat his performance when the teams meet again Wednesday night in Portland.

Tuesday’s 122-108 win over Minnesota marked Williams’ third appearance of the season. He scored 19 points on 9 of 10 shooting from the field and recorded nine rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and three steals in 25 minutes of action.

“I’m just blessed to be able to play this game here,” Williams said afterward. “There is always light at the end of the tunnel.”

Williams played just six games for Portland last season in his first season with the team before the season-ending injury. His absence left a big hole up front and the team’s defense was often a problem.

“You guys have been hearing me since he got here and raving about how excited I am to be able to coach him,” the Trail Blazers’ Chauncey Billups said after Tuesday’s game. “He’s just a winner. He does everything you expect of him.

“His feel for the game is at a very high level, his IQ is really high. His rebounding, his blocked shots, his voice, he has such an impact.”

Williams was one of seven Portland players to score in double figures in an NBA Cup game on Tuesday. Both teams are in group A.

Portland’s Jerami Grant scored a team-best 21 points, while Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija each added 17 points. Toumani Camara and Scoot Henderson each had 14 points and Dalano Banton had 12.

Deandre Ayton (sprained finger) missed the game and Anfernee Simons played only five minutes due to chest pain. Billups said Simons has undergone tests that have come back normal, but he added that Simons will undergo “further testing” on Wednesday.

“He started having a little bit of shortness of breath out of nowhere,” Billups said. “We wanted to be extra careful.”

Tuesday’s performance was very different for Portland. Last Friday, the Timberwolves defeated the Trail Blazers 127-102 in Minneapolis.

Anthony Edwards drained nine three-pointers and had 37 points in that game, and Minnesota was 22 of 50 from three-point range.

Tuesday night, the Timberwolves were 13 of 35 from behind the arc. Edwards made four treys while scoring 26 points.

Naz Reid was Minnesota’s top scorer on Tuesday with 28 points.

What hurt the Timberwolves was their inability to take care of the ball. Minnesota committed a season-worst 23 turnovers, leading to 25 Portland points.

“Just sloppiness and carelessness,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Very controllable.”

Four different players committed four miscues. It was the third straight game and fourth time overall that the Timberwolves have had at least 20 turnovers in a game this season.

“I think we need to get more structure,” Finch said of how to reduce the problems. “Guys try to play a lot of risky play instead of easy play.”

Finch said some turnovers were due to players trying to force the ball to Rudy Gobert. The big man only made three shots, so two.

While Reid and Edwards combined for half of Minnesota’s points, Jaden McDaniels performed well with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.

The Timberwolves had beaten Portland five straight before Tuesday’s loss.

–Field-level media