Four takeaways from the Wolves' impressive win over the Blazers

The Timberwolves' 114-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night was a thing of beauty, considering the circumstances. With no Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, Julius Randle, or Donte DiVincenzo, the Wolves trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half and by 13 late in the third quarter. But they found a way to dig deep and come back against a Portland team that had been 10-1 in its last 11 games, igniting the Target Center crowd in the process.

"One of my favorite wins of the year, no doubt about it," Chris Finch said.

Let's go over four takeaways from Minnesota's impressive victory.

The Jaden McDaniels leap is upon us

With half of Minnesota's early-season eight-man rotation out for this game, McDaniels led the way as one of the Wolves' primary offensive options. He was outstanding in that role, scoring a career-high 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting to go along with ten rebounds and four assists. Notably, McDaniels shot (and missed) just one three-point attempt, doing all of his scoring at the rim and in the midrange.

Jaden McDaniels' shot chart against Portland on Saturday | ESPN.com

McDaniels is shooting below 34 percent from three for the second consecutive season. He still has to take them when he's open, particularly when playing off of guys like Edwards and Randle, but that's not the best part of his game. More and more in recent weeks, McDaniels has been using his length and athleticism to either attack the basket or elevate for midrange jumpers. That was also what propelled him in a 27-point outing against the Mavericks last month. It's what makes him a real weapon on offense, in addition to being an elite defensive player.

In the first 37 games of this season, McDaniels had scored in double-figures 17 times and had only broken 20 once. Over the last 16 games, he's been in double-figures 14 times and has hit the 20-point mark five times. During that span, he's averaging 15.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game on 53 percent shooting from the floor.

The dream with McDaniels for the last couple years has been a leap into consistently scoring 13-15 points per game. That leap is fully happening these days for the 24-year-old in his fifth season. If he can sustain it even when the Wolves get healthier, it would be huge for the team's ceiling.

Let's get a Jaden McDaniels highlight reel in the chat pic.twitter.com/jbseMtHEZ2
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) February 9, 2025

Naz Reid is a unique offensive force

This isn't exactly a new takeaway, but Reid deserves some praise for his performance on his bobblehead night at Target Center. He dropped 23 points and eight rebounds on 9-of-16 shooting, including five makes on nine three-point attempts. It was McDaniels, Reid, and Nickeil Alexander Walker (21 points, five rebounds, six assists) who did the majority of the scoring for the Wolves.

Reid continues to be a ridiculous offensive weapon for the Wolves, especially since Randle's injury. He's averaging 19.6 points per game in five contests since entering the starting lineup. Since the calendar flipped to 2025, Reid has made 64 of 122 three-point attempts (52.5 percent). And these aren't all catch-and-shoot bombs. He's doing it with step-backs off the dribble as well, which is something you just don't see from many 6'10" big men.

I’m old enough to remember when many of you wanted the Timberwolves to keep 29-year-old KAT over 25-year-old Naz Reid…

pic.twitter.com/8wazmQUDje
— Phil Mackey 🎙 (@PhilMackey) February 9, 2025

Reid is a big guy with true guard skills. Still just 25 years old despite being the Wolves' longest-tenured player, he's a major part of the current and future core alongside Edwards and McDaniels. Minnesota needs to make sure Reid gets re-signed this offseason, and there's a real argument he should remain in this year's starting lineup when Randle is healthy (though that probably won't happen).

Jaylen Clark is earning a permanent rotation spot

The Wolves have now played seven games since Clark entered their rotation for the first time in a road win over the Suns. That's a large enough sample size to know that the rookie needs to remain in the rotation for the rest of the season, even when DiVincenzo eventually returns from his toe injury.\

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Coming off of a career-high 17 points against the Rockets on Thursday, Clark had 11 points (on 4-of-6 shooting), three rebounds, and three steals in 32 minutes off the bench on Saturday. That's by far the most he's played this season. Clark was in the Wolves' closing lineup, as Finch said he simply wasn't going to take him out of the game.

Clark scored just two points in his rotation debut in Phoenix, but he's averaged 9.2 in the six games since then. He's made at least one three-pointer in six straight, going 9 of 17 in total, and he's also shown the ability to attack and finish with short floaters. That offensive production, paired with Clark's unbelievable point-of-attack defense, makes him a very valuable player. He's earned a permanent role on this team moving forward, and he should be signed to a standard NBA contract any day now.

Jaylen Clark showing some straight line drives in addition to the 3s he's been hitting recently. There's been good touch on the floaters.

His offense since entering the rotation has been a real pleasant surprise. pic.twitter.com/er6M8dvANt
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) February 9, 2025

The Wolves have dominated the fourth quarter during this streak

Since a pair of frustrating two-point losses against the Wizards and Kings, the Wolves ripped off three wins in a span of four nights against the Bulls, Rockets, and Blazers. The catalyst of this modest winning streak has been utter dominance in the fourth quarter.

Against Chicago, they won the fourth 33-18 to turn a close game into a blowout. Against Houston, they won it 35-16 to turn a six-point deficit into a comfortable win. And against Portland, they won the final frame 38-14 to once again turn a deficit into a stress-free victory. That's a combined advantage of 106-48, with a ridiculous +78.7 net rating.

It was impressive to see the Wolves dominate the fourth quarter against the Blazers without Edwards, who was a one-man wrecking crew down the stretch of the two previous games. They've been humming on offense in those final quarters, but they've also been locked in on defense and in the rebounding department. After some struggles in crunch time this season, it's been encouraging to see the Wolves flip the switch and pull away from teams lately.