PORTLAND, Ore. � Robert Covington was all alone, headed for an easy layup or dunk. No Portland player was near him. It was going to be two of the easiest points in Covington's career with the Wolves down six late in the fourth quarter. But somehow, he lost control of the ball, it hit off his knee and went out of bounds.
Such is the life for a team that has now lost 10 consecutive games, the latest another decent effort that ended up in a 113-106 at the Moda Center to the Portland Trail Blazers.
All Covington could do after the play was smile and give a little laugh, and after 10 straight losses, the Wolves don't have many other ways to react.
Andrew Wiggins had 33 to lead the Wolves, who were without Karl-Anthony Towns for the third consecutive game because of a left knee injury, while sharpshooters Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum had 29 and 26 respectively for Portland. Kent Bazemore also did damage in place of the injured Carmelo Anthony with 19 while Hassan Whiteside had 16 points and 22 rebounds. The Wolves held Portland to 43% shooting but it wasn't enough.
The Wolves played from behind most of the night but tied the score multiple times in the fourth quarter. But Portland would go on a mini run, 5-0 or 6-0 after each push from the Wolves. After Covington's turnover with the Wolves down 103-97, he tried for another layup on the next drive, only to have it blocked. The Wolves couldn't get back within one possession the rest of the night.
The Wolves had some success in the first quarter doing something that has evaded them recently _ finishing at the rim. Wiggins was able to create space for himself and finish some runners at the time that haven't been going in for him of late. Shabazz Napier complemented that with a couple of nice drives and the Wolves hung around the Blazers early and grabbed a 17-16 lead.
The Wolves got off to a slow start from three-point range, going just 1 of 9 in the opening quarter, and outside of Wiggins, who had 11 in the first, they lacked offensive firepower without Towns.
But they did hold Portland to just 35% shooting and it was a 27-23 Blazers lead after one. McCollum had just one point in the first quarter and was 0-for-6, but he got going in the second. He was 4-for-7, which included three three-pointers, and Portland started to gain an edge on the Wolves. Lillard was his lethal self on the offensive end, scoring 19 in the first half. The Wolves got a lift from Gorgui Dieng offensively, as Dieng scored 12 in the second, but the Blazers would lead by as much as 11. With the Wolves within 31-30, Portland went on an 11-5 run as Skal Labissiere took some of the scoring burden off McCollum and Lillard with seven points during that stretch. The Wolves got it back to within one, 49-48, but the Blazers controlled the rest of the half, scoring 12 of the next 14 points to close out the second.
The Wolves again kept it close coming out of the locker room in the third quarter. They scored the first seven points to pull within two. But the Wolves could never quite get to the point where they would tie or take the lead.
Jeff Teague played one of his most inspired short bursts of offense all season in the closing moments of the third, scoring the Wolves' last nine points in the frame, including a running three-pointer at the buzzer, to pull them within 83-80.
The Wolves finally got the score even in the fourth 85-85 on a layup from Jaylen Nowell _ only to allow the next six points, both on Portland three-point plays. The Wolves would tie it again on a Napier three at 93-93 but the Portland scored the next five, prompting a timeout from Wolves' coach Ryan Saunders with 5:24 to play. Shortly after came the play the Wolves and Covington would like to forget in what's become a long month.
