"I was real nervous," Oden said with a smile. "You seen me looking around, I was looking for somebody to pass to. I'm not used to taking it up like that."

The Timberwolves know their first year under Rambis and new president David Kahn is going to be a long one. From the start, Rambis has emphasized energy and effort over victory every step of the way. After spirited efforts early against the Celtics, Suns and Clippers, the Wolves have looked frustrated and disillusioned at times lately.

They lost 116-93 at Portland on Sunday, then gave up franchise-record 146 points to the lowly Warriors on Monday.

"That's one thing about dealing with a young team, when your head gets down, it's hard to pick it back up," Jefferson said. "Right now, we let teams hit us and we're not even hitting back."

Notes

Blazers C Joel Przybilla, a native of small-town Monticello and former University of Minnesota star, swatted a dunk attempt by Corey Brewer in the third period. Two fans said, "You don't bring that into Stearns County!" Actually, Monticello is in Wright County, but close enough. ... The Wolves were so bad defensively that Portland executed a rare point guard-to-point guard alley oop in the fourth when Jerryd Bayless threw down a pass from Andre Miller, who had 10 assists.