MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- 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.

"It was almost like we were playing against ourselves," 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.

"I hate to be his first victory," McMillan said. "But I

thought both teams played hard."

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.

"Overall, I think my performance was real good, but it means

nothing with an 'L' behind it," 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.

"It was nice to get coach Casey his first win," Szczerbiak

said. "Hopefully we can bring him many more."

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.

"I thought we were a little tight, first-game jitters," Casey

said. "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."

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.

"The little things we talked about, we condition for, we

trained for, is what lost the ballgame," McMillan said.Game notes
Casey said rookies Bracey Wright and Dwayne Jones would

likely be allocated to the NBDL sometime next week. ... Inactive

for the opener -- Wolves: Ronald Dupree, Wright, Jones; Blazers: Ha

Sueng Jin, Viktor Khryapa, Sergei Monia. ... Przybilla, a Minnesota

native, had six points and six rebounds.