MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &045; Dwane Casey walked into the postgame interview room and let out a huge sigh.

His first head coaching victory was in the books, but it came at the expense of an old friend.

Kevin Garnett had 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Richie Frahm hit his first five 3-pointers on Wednesday night to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 90-86 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers and new coach Nate McMillan, who either coached with or played for Casey in Seattle for the past 11 years.

&8220;It was almost like we were playing against ourselves,&8221; Casey said.

Darius Miles had 32 points and 11 rebounds and Zach Randolph added 18 and 13 boards, but the Blazers couldn’t finish off a fourth-quarter comeback in McMillan’s first game after coming over from Seattle in the offseason.

The new-look Timberwolves looked sloppy in the first and fourth quarters, but shot well enough in the second and third to pull out the victory. Frahm finished with 18 points and Wally Szczerbiak added 16.

&8220;I hate to be his first victory,&8221; McMillan said. &8220;But I thought both teams played hard.&8221;

McMillan certainly didn’t make it easy for his buddy.

Portland rookie Jarrett Jack scored seven points during an 11-0 run in the fourth, and Miles was dominant down the stretch. He had two straight steals and fast-break baskets, then blocked a shot and went coast-to-coast for the layup to cut Minnesota’s lead to 82-81 with just over 1 minute to play.

&8220;Overall, I think my performance was real good, but it means nothing with an ‘L’ behind it,&8221; said Miles, who also had five steals.

But Garnett came right back with a 22-footer just inside the 3-point arc and a jump hook over Joel Przybilla in the lane.

Eddie Griffin blocked a shot by Randolph on the other end and the Wolves finished the game off at the free throw line for the 11th straight season-opening win.

Casey spent 14 seasons as an assistant in Seattle, coaching McMillan as a player for four seasons, then serving as an assistant with McMillan for two years under Paul Westphal and finishing with five years as McMillan’s top assistant the past five years.

&8220;It was nice to get coach Casey his first win,&8221; Szczerbiak said. &8220;Hopefully we can bring him many more.&8221;

Both McMillan and Casey admitted to having butterflies before the game, but it was the Wolves who looked more nervous after the opening tip.

After shooting an NBA-worst 40 percent from the field in the preseason, the Blazers shot 50 percent in the first quarter to take a 21-14 lead.

&8220;I thought we were a little tight, first-game jitters,&8221; Casey said. &8220;It was good to get it our of our system. It’s good to be hyped up, but we were a little bit too hyped up.&8221;

Casey went to Frahm in the second quarter looking for a spark, and the third-year player delivered.

He hit all four of his 3-point attempts to help the Wolves dig out of an 11-point hole.

It was a welcome sight for the Timberwolves, who have been concerned about replacing Fred Hoiberg. The NBA’s leading 3-point shooter last season, who will most likely be out for the season while recovering from offseason heart surgery.

After shooting just 33 percent in the first quarter, the Timberwolves hit 70 percent of their shots in the second period to take a 48-45 lead at halftime.

The Trail Blazers never led after that, letting McMillan know that he has a lot of work to do.

&8220;The little things we talked about, we condition for, we trained for, is what lost the ballgame,&8221; McMillan said.