MINNEAPOLIS _ Ever since his hot start to the season, it's been an uphill climb for Andrew Wiggins to maintain that pace.
Some of the factors were not in his control. He missed time because of a death in the family and an illness. Then another illness caused him to miss four games recently. In between, Karl-Anthony Towns went down because of a knee injury that caused his missed-games streak to increase to 12. His absence has allowed teams to key in even more on Wiggins.
Performances like the one Wiggins had in Thursday's 116-102 victory over Portland haven't been as frequent since early November, but the Wolves hope it portends what's to come the second half of the season.
The Wolves were clicking on all cylinders against the Trail Blazers, who looked as tired as a team wrapping up a five-game road trip might look. The Wolves' defense, which has been among the league's best with Towns out of the lineup, had another stellar game. The offense has lagged behind, rating among the league's worst. But that wasn't a problem against Portland in a game coach Ryan Saunders probably wishes he could bottle for the rest of the season, a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicated, with Saunders resting most of his starters in the fourth.
Wiggins was the catalyst for the efficient offensive night, turning in one of his most statistically impressive nights in a while _ 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go with eight assists in just 26 minutes.
Robert Covington had a dynamic game at both ends of the floor, disrupting passes and drives with his deft hands. He finished with 15 points and two steals.
Gorgui Dieng keyed a third-quarter burst that put the game out of reach with 12 points, 10 rebounds and two steals of his own while Jeff Teague added 12 and Keita Bates-Diop added 11 off the bench. Jarrett Culver also had 12. The Wolves held Portland to just 37% shooting. Blazers mainstays C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard had 15 and 20, respectively.
It was a choppy start in the first quarter for the Wolves as Portland ended up with a 34-28 lead, but the second quarter is where the night really began.
The Wolves scored first nine points of the quarter, five from Bates-Diop, and from there the defense made it difficult. Wiggins kickstarted the offense with a 3-pointer and a put-back to make it 44-36. Then Covington and his hands went to work as the Wolves scored eight points of four Portland turnovers and extended their lead to as much as 12.
The Wolves held Portland to just 13 points in that quarter while scoring 31 in their best defensive stretch of the season.
The Blazers shot just 6 of 22, 1 of 8 from 3-point range and the Wolves allowed just two offensive rebounds. Covington had seven points and two steals in the quarter as the Wolves led 59-47.
At the center of it all was Wiggins, who had 14 points and five assists, driving with ease, hitting from the outside and setting up his teammates, who were taking advantage of their open looks. The Wolves finished 13 of 32 from 3-point range.
The Wolves rolled that effort over into the third, opening with 3s from Covington and Dieng on their way to 41 points for the quarter. Eventually they pushed the lead to 22 within the first five minutes of the second half. Dieng scored eight points during that stretch.
Saunders called timeout at the 6:47 mark to re-focus his team after a quick 5-0 Portland burst, and out of the timeout, the Wolves responded by pushing the lead back up to 27. From there, it was an easy night for the starters, who got to rest most of the fourth in one of the most drama-free wins the Wolves will have all season.
