The Portland Trail Blazers took on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night in the first series of NBA Cup games of the season. The Blazers came out of the gate strong and never gave up, en route to a 122-108 win at The Moda Center.

If you missed the first eleven games of the season and decided to tune in to tonight’s game, you would assume the Trail Blazers were undefeated and showed the best defense and three-point shooting in the league. Unfortunately, this is not the case, but it was fun to see what this young team from Portland is capable of against one of the NBA’s elite teams, who defeated the Blazers by 25 points just two games ago.

The Blazers played without starting center Deandre Ayton and lost starting point guard Anfernee Simons to injury in the first quarter. These losses would normally have sent the team into a dark void of nothingness. Tonight it created opportunities for Donovan Clingan, Delano Banton and game MVP Rob Williams III to shine.

At the end of the day, the Blazers shot 56.3% from three-point land. That made the difference in the match. Portland did its best, holding the Timberwolves to 37% shooting from deep. In a season where wins will be difficult, it was nice to see the Blazers off to a 1-0 start in the NBA Cup.

Here are several factors that contribute to victory.

Defense

Having the top team in the NBA would normally be an advantage. If this were 1980, the Blazers would dominate every team in their path. But last time I checked, it’s 2024 and every NBA team needs to be able to defend the paint, turn on everything, and knock down three-point shots at a high clip. Tonight the Blazers did all those things very well.

Portland’s defense swarmed NBA superstar Anthony Edwards and the rest of the ‘Wolves backcourt.’ Toumani Camara rose to the challenge of guarding his former Georgia Bulldog teammate and was a threat. Deni Avdija used his length to disrupt shooters and played in the passing lanes to force steals.

When the perimeter defense played well, the interior defense played out of this world. The rookie Clingan set the tone early in his first start of the season, knocking away a hook shot from Minnesota big man Rudy Gobert on the first play of the game. That one block turned out to be a prelude to the rest of the night. Clingan played a season-high 21 minutes. His stats won’t jump out at you, but the gravitas he brings to the defensive end of the court is noticeable.

If Clingan set the tone on defense, Rob Williams III finished the song. Williams was simply amazing for the Blazers tonight (more on this later). He finished the night with three blocks and three steals and was able to help with transitions and rebounds in traffic, collecting nine boards.

Overall, this was a great night of defense for the Blazers.

The long ball

In the Blazers’ previous game against the Memphis Grizzlies, they shot just 9.5% from beyond the arc. After that night, it seemed like Portland would never make another three-point shot. Apparently they were just saving up all the brands for their first NBA Cup game. The Blazers went 18-32 from deep.

The way they got those shots surprised me. They went on the attack and looked for the open shooter. Camara and Avdija took advantage of running away from screens and calling for the ball. Shaedon Sharpe and Banton made more of their threes off the dribble, but they looked comfortable and didn’t force the action. It’s easy to get boxed in by the Timberwolves’ perimeter defenders, so it was encouraging to see this kind of performance against them.

Time Lord

Just let it sink in for a moment. Robert Williams III scored 19 points while shooting 9-10 from the field with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks and a +13 rating in 25 minutes. To be honest, Williams looked even better from an eye test perspective than his stats showed. He connected on multiple lob passes and was a vocal leader on the defensive end of the court. I know a lot has been said this offseason about when (not if) Williams would be traded, but if he can stay healthy, the Trail Blazers might want to consider keeping him.

Finishing at the Rim

The Blazers can go to the hoop at any time. The speed of Scoot Henderson, the cunning of Avdija, the athleticism of Sharpe and the alertness of Jerami Grant make control very difficult for defenders. The whole year’s problem ends when the Blazers get those easy looks.

Tonight against Rudy Gobert, Portland did a much better job connecting on close-range attempts, drawing fouls or passing the ball to the open man. The Blazers need to make more use of this superpower and use it to their advantage. Not only will it put them in position for easy points, it will also create an open look for others on the arc.

Bank score

Portland’s second unit defeated the Timberwolves reserves 64-39.

28 of Minnesota’s bench points came from just one player, Naz Reid. Portland had a more balanced attack. They had to be benched early due to the Simons injury and the experiment paid off. The Blazers have a deep, albeit young, rotation. It will be hard to tank when the bench offers balanced scoring and this kind of defensive effort every night.

Next

Box score

The Blazers will host the same Timberwolves, Pacific tomorrow night at 7 p.m.