Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers scored 34 points and seven assists to beat Minnesota 106-101 on Monday night, in the first home game of the Timberwolves since Saunders died on Oct. 25. Wolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns said that he was emotionally drained from the beginning and cried the whole pre-game, as well as just tried to use his energy in a good way.
NBA news reported that Lillard talked about the memorial ceremony. He said it was emotional and though he didn't know Saunders personally, from afar he always respected him. They played with heavy hearts but expected a lot of energy from the crowd.
Lillard was reluctant to dominate the game too much early this season, preferring to help a revamped Blazers roster without LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and Nic Batum. That resulted in a couple of ugly losses to Phoenix, and Lillard became more aggressive against the Wolves.
Lillard's pull-up 3 in the transition gave them a 10-point lead with 5:39 to play, but the Wolves ripped off a 12-4 run to pull within two with 90 seconds left. Blazers coach Terry Stotts knew some people were questioning about whether he had to strike a balance or not, but Lillard is the ultimate competitor and carried the team.
The Wolves almost tied the game on a putback by Andrew Wiggins with only 54.5 seconds remaining, but the goal-tending was ruled offensive.
Chippewa News said that Kevin Garnet had an early check with less than two minutes into the second half and had his leg examined on the bench. However, Garnett was able to return in the fourth. He went scoreless for 17 minutes with just one rebound.
Before the game, there was a 15-minute pre-game program that included appearances by Commissioner Adam Silver, Pat Riley, Larry Bird, Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Chauncey Billups and everyone except Garnett who was too overcome with emotion. The most memorable moment was when a teary Wolves GM Milt Newton recalled how Saunders would tell him that he loved him.
