For the first time in a week, the Minnesota Timberwolves will arrive at a game in a good mood.

Minnesota will go for back-to-back wins when it tips off against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night in Minneapolis. It is the last game for the Timberwolves before the NBA All-Star break and the second-to-last game for Portland before the long layoff.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch hopes to see his players continue to perform well after they sprinted to a 138-116 win over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. Minnesota scored 81 points in the first half, including 41 points in the first quarter.

The lopsided victory snapped a two-game skid for the Timberwolves after players such as Rudy Gobert questioned the team’s effort level and called on coaches to bench starters if necessary.

As far as Finch is concerned, the bad week is over and the team is moving forward.

“Sometimes it feels like you’re really far away from where you want to be, but you’re actually not,” Finch said. “You’ve just got to remind yourself.”

The arrival of Ayo Dosunmu has helped to shake the Timberwolves out of their recent funk. Dosunmu provided a jolt of energy off the bench on Monday, making 9 of 13 shots from the field, and he likely will figure prominently in the rotation going forward.

Minnesota acquired Dosunmu from the Chicago Bulls before the trade deadline to add depth on the bench and help push the pace.

“That’s one of my strengths, and I think that’s something that can take this team to another level on both ends of the court …,” Dosunmu said. “We have so many great talents on offense that can score in so many different ways, so adding a different way to the offense is just going to make it harder to guard.”

Meanwhile, Portland enters the matchup on a three-game winning streak after knocking off the Memphis Grizzlies in back-to-back games and then cruising to a 135-118 win over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.

Toumani Camara will look to stay hot after erupting for career-high 30 points on 10-for-12 shooting in the win against Philadelphia. He made a career-best eight 3-pointer (on 10 attempts) and notched three steals.

Camara credited his teammates for playing a role in his sharpshooting from long distance.

“It felt great,” Camara said. “A lot of great looks, too. A lot of open shots. My teammates found good ways to find me. It felt pretty big (Monday), for sure.”

Deni Avdija in particular helps the rest of the Trail Blazers, Camara said of the player who leads the team in scoring (25.5 points per game) and assists (6.7 per game).

“He’s an All-Star for a reason,” Camara said. “He shrinks the floor a lot. A lot of people just worry about his drives and how aggressive he can be, so it opens up a lot of things for other players. And then he’s very unselfish, and he’s really looking to pass the ball a lot.”

This is the second of four meetings between the teams this season. Minnesota won the season opener for both teams 118-114 on Oct. 22 in Portland thanks to a 41-point performance by Anthony Edwards.

–Field Level Media

Tyler Perkins scored 22 points and Villanova closed on an 11-2 run to defeat visiting Marquette 77-74 on Tuesday.

Acaden Lewis contributed 15 points, while Matt Hodge added 13 for the Wildcats (19-5, 10-3 Big East), who posted their fourth straight win. Villanova overcame 39% shooting from the field and an 18-of-31 effort from the foul line to sweep the regular-season series.

The Golden Eagles (9-16, 4-10) appeared ready to win on the road for the first time this season but managed only two points in the final three minutes. Royce Parham shot 8 of 9 from the field and posted career highs in points (26) and rebounds (11) for Marquette, while Adrien Stevens pitched in with 18 points as the Golden Eagles shot 49% from the field.

The Golden Eagles led by a point with just over eight minutes left before Stevens’ 3-pointer ignited an 8-0 run.

However, the Wildcats quickly responded with a 9-0 stretch. Perkins hit back-to-back 3-pointers before Hodge’s triple rattled in to tie the game at 66-all.

Marquette answered again, this time with 3-pointers from Ben Gold and Chase Ross. Perkins drained a 3-pointer on the other end, sparking a 9-0 spurt that put the Wildcats up 75-72. Lewis’ twisting layup put Villanova ahead in the midst of that stretch.

Nigel James Jr.’s layup with 14.8 seconds left made it a one-point game before Devin Askew responded with two free throws. On their final possession, the Golden Eagles wasted nearly the entire clock before Stevens’ long 3-point attempt was snuffed by Perkins at the buzzer.

Villanova opened a double-digit advantage midway through the first half. The Wildcats led by 10 with less than six minutes left in the half before the Golden Eagles chipped away to get within 36-32 at the break.

The Golden Eagles opened the second half on a 7-2 run to take a one-point lead. Several minutes later, Lewis scored five quick points to put the Wildcats ahead 47-41.

Continuing the back-and-forth theme, Marquette used a 14-3 run to take a 58-53 lead midway through the second half. Parham scored nine points during that surge.

–Field Level Media

Wake Forest and Georgia Tech have both had disappointing campaigns and both have to start collecting wins if they want to compete in postseason play.

With only 15 of the 18 Atlantic Coast Conference teams qualifying for the ACC tournament next month — and Wake Forest and Georgia Tech in the mix for one of those last spots — Wednesday’s matchup in Atlanta is one of the biggest down the stretch for two programs desperate for a win.

Georgia Tech, 11-13 overall, brings a 2-9 conference record to the game, currently putting them out of an ACC tournament spot. The Yellow Jackets have lost five in a row, including a 95-72 blowout loss Saturday at Stanford.

Leading scorer Kowacie Reeves Jr. (15 points per game) didn’t play against the Cardinal, but reports Tuesday night indicate that Reeves is expected to play against the Demon Deacons.

“It’s one of those things where I can sit up here and talk about what I don’t got, you know? I’m not going to do that,” Georgia Tech head coach Damon Stoudamire said. “That’s not the reason we lost. Did we miss the 16 (points)? Of course we did, but he didn’t play on Wednesday as well and we were right there to win.

“The reality of it is that we gotta do a better job because right now, what we’re doing is we’re good enough to stay in good, but just not good enough to lose the game as well and at the end of the day, we got to get over the hump whether Kowacie is available or not.”

Wake Forest is also on a five-game losing streak, which has seen their conference record plummet to 2-8. A loss by either squad will further sink them down in the standings, but a win could go a long way in helping them make the conference tournament with little more than a handful of games remaining in the regular season.

“I’m really disappointed that we lost the game,” Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes said following an 88-80 loss to No. 24 Louisville on Saturday. The Demon Deacons fought back from a 15-point, second-half deficit to tie the game before faltering late.

“We fought so hard to get back in it, playing the right way, and then we quit doing things that got us back into the game.”

–Field Level Media