Trail Blazers' win over Timberwolves marks big upset

Shaedon Sharpe. Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Trail Blazers' win over Timberwolves was biggest upset in 30 years

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 4/3/23

The Portland Trail Blazers' 107-105 road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday was the biggest upset in the NBA in 30 years.

The Blazers (33-45) were one of two teams on Sunday to win as 15+ point underdogs, with the San Antonio Spurs (20-58) also dropping the Sacramento Kings in a stunner.

The Trail Blazers upset the Timberwolves today as 19.5-point underdogs.

It’s the largest point spread upset in the NBA since the Mavericks (+19.5) beat the SuperSonics on April 6, 1993 and tied for the second-largest upset since 1990-91, per @ESPNStatsInfo.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) April 2, 2023

The Trail Blazers beat the Timberwolves today as a 19.5-point underdog and the Spurs beat the Kings as a 16-point underdog.

Sunday is the 91st time since 1990-91 that there have been multiple 15-point underdogs in a day; it's the 1st day two of them won.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 3, 2023

Both the Spurs' and Trail Blazers' wins were truly stunning, as both teams were not only playing on the road but are toward the bottom of the Western Conference standings and have been eliminated from playoff contention as well. The Kings (47-31), meanwhile, are battling for their postseason seeding and are currently the No. 3 seed with four regular season games remaining, while the Timberwolves (39-40) are fighting for their playoff lives.

San Antonio is also tied for the second-worst road record (7-32) in the league, making their win even more shocking.

Per ESPN's David Purdum, Portland was missing four starters in their contest against Minnesota and had lost 11 of their last 12 heading into Sunday. The Timberwolves also held a 12-point lead in the second half before collapsing.

The Kings have already clinched a playoff spot (their first in 17 years), but the Timberwolves need to finish the final week of the regular season strong to at least make the play-in tournament. With three games left, they enter Monday in ninth place in the conference and are slated to take part in the play-in tournament.

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