PORTLAND, Ore. _ Even as winter rain still fell, Portland coach Terry Stotts declared Wednesday a good day in "Blazerville" and that was before Trail Blazers' All Star Damian Lillard went out and proved him right.
Lillard celebrated being named Tuesday to his third NBA All-Star Game with a 123-114 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in which he scored 31 points on 9-for-17 shooting that included six made three-pointers.
The Wolves lost to the Trail Blazers for the first time this season, finally wilting without injured star Jimmy Butler after they persevered and won consecutive games without him Saturday against Toronto and Monday in Los Angeles over the Clippers.
Lillard made as many threes as Wolves players made combined. The Blazers outscored the Wolves 17-6 overall on threes made.
And Lillard didn't even play in the fourth quarter on a night when the Wolves trailed by as many as 19 points after they couldn't contain Lilliard, or Blazers swingman Pat Connaughton either for that matter.
Before he went to the bench for the night, Lillard ended the first half with a pair of free throws that tied the game and ended the third quarter with a driving scoop shot that gave his team a 97-84 lead.
Lillard scored 13 of those 31 points in a third quarter when the Blazers turned the game by outscoring the Wolves 43-30.
He made three of his threes as well in that quarter, when the Trail Blazers built a 14-point lead after they had trailed by as many as eight points back in the first quarter.
On Tuesday, Lillard was named to play in the All-Star Game for a third time after he had missed out the last two seasons in a decision by Western Conference coaches. Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau and Clippers coach Doc Rivers on Monday called for the NBA to expand All-Star rosters from 12 players to 15 so three more deserving players can be included.
"We're really proud he made the team and happy he made the team," Stotts said before the game. "We all thought he was deserving in the first place. It's a good day in Blazerville."
Yes, it was.
The Trail Blazers beat the Wolves for the first time in three games this season, the first two at Target Center.
Trailing by as many as eight points in the first half and tied at halftime, the Blazers made nine of their first 11 in the third quarter and opened a 10-point lead midway through the quarter after the Wolves held them to 44 percent shooting before intermission.
A forward turned defensive center for the night, the Blazers' Al-Farouq Aminu provided a three-point shot and stole the ball from newly named All Star Karl-Anthony Towns and scored on a dunk at the other end on a night he shadowed Towns defensively as his main task.
Butler missed his third consecutive game because of sore right knee and Thibodeau was uncertain before Wednesday's game if he'd be able to play on this three-game trip's final night, Thursday at Golden State in a TNT game.
While Butler sat out again, veteran Jamal Crawford returned to action after he missed the last two games as well because of a sprained big toe.
Crawford said it remains sore, but figures it will get better eventually and on Wednesday, he played on, returning to his regular role off the bench. He did so with a rare four-point play in the second quarter that was the 52nd such play of his career.
The Wolves led 14-7 and 23-15 early and still led by six points late in the second quarter before the Blazers finished the first half on a 7-2 run that featured Lillard scoring the final points on a pair of free throws with three seconds left before intermission.
The Wolves on Wednesday began a tougher stretch of their schedule, beginning a six-day period in which they play back-to-back games twice sandwiched around a lone home game against Brooklyn on Saturday.
They play at Golden State on Thursday, then play at Atlanta on Monday and Toronto on Tuesday.
