When the Minnesota Timberwolves jumped out to a 12-point lead over Portland at halftime, the struggling Trail Blazers looked to be on their way to yet another loss.

Turns out C.J. McCollum had the young Wolves right where he wanted them.

McCollum scored a career-high 43 points to carry the Trail Blazers to a 95-89 victory Sunday night.

Mason Plumlee had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Evan Turner added 11 points for the Blazers. They were without star point guard Damian Lillard for the fourth straight game.

McCollum made 16 of 25 shots, including a 30-foot 3-pointer with just over 2:30 to play to put the game out of reach.

“We were being soft as a team and I think it showed in our performance,” McCollum said. “We knew that we needed to come out and compete.”

Andrew Wiggins scored 24 points for the Timberwolves. But Karl-Anthony Towns had just 11 points on 3-for-15 shooting and missed all six of his 3-pointers. Zach LaVine also was quiet with 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting and the Wolves fell to 9-11 in games in which they lead by double digits.

“I shot good shots, put them up with the same form and they just weren’t going in,” Towns said. “I tried to do other things, try to make free throws when you got them, get rebounds, make assists. I don’t know. I shot good shots, they just didn’t fall.”

Portland had lost seven of its last eight and was floundering with its star on the bench with ankle problems.

Lillard was listed as doubtful for the game with that sprained left ankle. He worked out hard before the game and showed no noticeable limp, but the Blazers started McCollum at point guard again with two days off before their next scheduled game.