PORTLAND, Ore. – – Shaedon Sharpe scored 33 points, Donovan Clingan narrowly missed a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks on Wednesday, and the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves for the second straight night, 106-98.

Anthony Edwards scored 24 points as Minnesota squandered an early lead and dropped its third straight game.

The teams entered the fourth quarter tied before Portland took control behind Clingan’s defense, which had four blocks in the period as Minnesota missed 10 of its first 11 shots to start the final frame.

Portland extended its lead to double figures for the first time on free throws from Sharpe, making it 89-78.

Takeaways

Wolves: Minnesota played without starting point guard Mike Conley. Conley played in the first two back-to-backs of the season, but resting him Wednesday is part of a bigger plan for the 37-year-old point guard. “We’re generally not a halftime team… But we had the mentality this season to be a little more proactive with Mike,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said.

Trail Blazers: The Blazers were without starting point guard Anfernee Simons, who left Tuesday’s game with shortness of breath. “He just didn’t feel too good today,” head coach Chauncey Billups said. Billups said he expected further testing and that Simons doesn’t seem concerned. Portland was also without Robert Williams, who is being held out of back-to-backs.

Key moment

Shaedon Sharpe’s putback slam dunk with 5:26 left in the game put Portland ahead 91-83, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

Key stat

Minnesota shot 7 for 39 (18%) from the three-point line. The Wolves entered Wednesday ranked fourth in the NBA in 3-point percentage.

Next

The Timberwolves are in Sacramento on Friday, while the Trail Blazers are off until Sunday’s game against Atlanta.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA