In a thrilling game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Clippers, the Timberwolves emerged victorious with a final scoreline of 121-100. The match was held on Monday night and showcased a battle between two of the top teams in the Western Conference.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were led by Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, who scored 24 and 23 points, respectively. Rudy Gobert also had a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The team now has a record of 37-16 and continues to lead the Western Conference. This victory was their third win in the last four games.
The Timberwolves have now won ten games this season when trailing at halftime, which is the second-highest number in the NBA. Coach Chris Finch spoke about the game and said, “I didn’t think we brought enough force or physicality to the game in the first half. I thought we played good basketball but there were a bunch of plays where they just were way more physical than we were. All credit to the guys. They recognized that and set the tone at the start of the second half.”
The Clippers started off strong and led by 53-49 at halftime. However, the Timberwolves came back with a vengeance in the third quarter and outscored the Clippers 40-19. Minnesota started the second half with eight straight points, but it wasn’t until midway through the third quarter that it was able to pull away.
Minnesota trailed 64-62 midway through the quarter before it went on a 27-8 run to close the third. The Timberwolves had a 12-2 spurt to close the quarter, with Towns scoring eight straight points and Edwards adding a reverse layup to give them an 89-72 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
The Timberwolves were on fire in the third quarter, scoring 12 of 19 shots from the field. Edwards and Towns were both 6 of 6 at the line as the Timberwolves made all 13 of their foul shots in the period. Meanwhile, the Clippers were struggling and shot only 7 of 20 from the field, committing five turnovers that resulted in six Minnesota points.
The Timberwolves’ largest lead was 24 points during the fourth quarter. Clippers’ Paul George and Kawhi Leonard both scored 18 points each, while James Harden added 17. George became the Clippers’ all-time 3-point leader with 7:23 remaining in the third quarter, hitting his 739th to surpass Eric Piatkowski.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue acknowledged the Timberwolves’ dominance in the game and said, “They played better than we did. Outcoached us, outplayed us, and everything. I thought just the physicality and attention to detail, they were better.” Clippers are currently in third place in the Western Conference with a 35-17 record and have won 27 games since the start of December.