Portland big man Robert Williams III has just returned from a 12-month absence due to a major knee injury.
He’s quickly displaying why the Trail Blazers missed him so much last season.
Williams dominated the first contest of a back-to-back set with the Minnesota Timberwolves and will look to repeat his performance when the teams meet again Wednesday night in Portland.
Tuesday’s 122-108 victory over Minnesota marked Williams’ third appearance of the season. He scored 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field and recorded nine rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and three steals in 25 minutes of action.
“I’m just blessed to be out here playing this game,” Williams said afterward. “There’s always light at the end of the tunnel.”
Williams played just six games for Portland last season in his first campaign with the team before the season-ending injury. His absence left a major hole up front, and the squad’s defense often was a problem.
“You guys have heard me since he’s been here, raving about how happy I am to be able to coach him,” the Trail Blazers’ Chauncey Billups said after Tuesday’s game. “He’s just a winner. He does everything you need him to do.
“His feel for the game is very high-level, his IQ is really, really high-level. His rebounding, his blocked shots, his voice, he’s so impactful.”
Williams was one of seven Portland players to score in double digits Tuesday in a contest that was part of the NBA Cup. Both teams are in Group A.
Portland’s Jerami Grant scored a team-best 21 points while Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija added 17 apiece. Toumani Camara and Scoot Henderson had 14 points each and Dalano Banton had 12.
Deandre Ayton (sprained finger) missed the contest, and Anfernee Simons played just five minutes due to chest pains. Billups said Simons underwent tests that came back normal, but he added that Simons will undergo “further testing” on Wednesday.
“He was experiencing a little shortness of breath out of nowhere,” Billups said. “We wanted to be extra cautious.”
Tuesday’s performance was much different for Portland. Last Friday, the Timberwolves walloped the Trail Blazers 127-102 in Minneapolis.
Anthony Edwards drained nine 3-pointers and had 37 points in that contest, and Minnesota was 22 of 50 from 3-point range.
On Tuesday night, the Timberwolves were 13 of 35 from behind the arc. Edwards made four treys while scoring 26 points.
Naz Reid was Minnesota’s leading scorer with 28 points on Tuesday.
What hurt the Timberwolves was their inability to take care of the ball. Minnesota committed a season-worst 23 turnovers that led to 25 Portland points.
“Just sloppiness, carelessness,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Highly controllable ones.”
Four different players committed four miscues. It marked the third straight game and the fourth time overall that the Timberwolves had at least 20 turnovers in a game this season.
“I think we got to get into more structure,” Finch said of how the issues can be diminished. “Guys are trying to make the high-risk play a lot instead of the simple play.”
Finch said some turnovers were due to players trying to force the ball inside to Rudy Gobert. The big man took just three shots, making two.
While Reid and Edwards combined for half of Minnesota’s points, Jaden McDaniels performed well with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.
The Timberwolves had beaten Portland five straight times before Tuesday’s loss.
–Field Level Media
