There's one word that should get under every athlete's skin: soft.

C.J. McCollum used it to describe how the Portland Trail Blazers were playing before they came back to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night behind his career-high 43 points.

Via USA Today:

“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.”

The Blazers certainly stepped it up in the second half, outscoring the Wolves, 32-15, in the third quarter to spark the comeback.

McCollum was unconscious down the stretch, picking apart Minnesota in the pick-and-roll and using his elite midrange game to ice the game.

The career-high showing was much needed as the Blazers were once again without Damian Lillard, who is making progress in his injury rehab and hopeful to return this week.