Blazers 116  Wolves 93

Despite a balanced effort in which five Wolves players scored in double figures, Minnesota couldn’t keep pace with the Portland Trail Blazers last night, falling 116-93 at the Rose Garden. The Blazers started hot, shooting 13-for-19 (.684) in the opening frame to race out to a 33-24 lead. A Blazers alley oop dunk to open the second pushed the lead to 11, and the Wolves could not pull back within single digits the rest of the way. Nathan Jawai led the Wolves with a career-high 16 points in just 23 minutes off the bench, shooting 7-for-11 from the field and adding six rebounds. Al Jefferson notched his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Ryan Gomes tallied 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Andre Miller’s 21 points led the Blazers, with LaMarcus Aldridge adding 19 points and 10 boards. The Wolves and Blazers will meet twice more this month (Nov. 11 and 21), with the season finale slated for Feb. 27.

Al Jefferson notched his first double-double of the season last night in Portland, adding to a string of strong road outings to start the season. Big Al’s top two scoring efforts of the season have come on the road (21 points at Phoenix on 11/1; 24 points at the L.A. Clippers on 11/2), and he’s now averaging 19.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game on the road (11.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg at Target Center).

Tonight  at Golden State

The Wolves and Warriors will meet for the first time this season after splitting the four-game set last year. The Wolves have won in Oakland in each of the previous two seasons, including the final meeting last season when Sebastian Telfair tallied 14 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter as the Wolves earned a 105-97 win on April 8. That victory pulled the Wolves even with the Warriors in the all-time series at 39 wins apiece. Minnesota and Golden State will meet just three times this season, with the final two matchups coming at Target Center.