LA Clippers win 6 in a row with balanced attack vs. Timberwolves
The LA Clippers kept their composure late and used a balanced attack to win their sixth straight game against the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-105.
DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 16 boards for the LA Clippers, who beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-105 for their sixth straight win, extending their league-best record to 9-1. Jordan knocked down some timely free throws when Tom Thibodeau called his players to intentionally foul Jordan, who’s currently shooting 39 percent from the charity stripe.
The Clippers received major contributions across the roster. Blake Griffin had 20 points, 11 rebounds and fours assists, while J.J. Reddick chipped in 18 points and Luc Mbah a Moute, always known for his defense for good reason, scored a season-high 15 points, including two made three-pointers. Chris Paul was highly efficient as always, scoring 19 points on only seven shots (8-fo-8 from the free throw line) to go along with eight assists and two steals.
From the bench, Jamal Crawford (10 points), Marreese Speights (eight points) and Raymond Felton (seven points) all did their part, too.
The Timberwolves’ brightest young star, Karl-Anthony Towns, had 24 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks, and helped lead Minnesota’s attack on the offensive glass (15 total) that helped keep them close to the Clippers. Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points, but was just 8-of-24 from the floor, struggling inside the arc yet again.
The Clippers were on the second night of a back-to-back after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the final seconds on Friday. They came into this game with a 4-0 record on the road and were looking to add another win before heading home.
The Clippers’ defense wasn’t quite as crisp, only holding the Timberwolves to 44.9 percent, but did run the T-Wolves’ players off the three-point line or into bad shots when they could.
The Timberwolves’ bench brought it to 11 in the fourth quarter before Doc Rivers brought the starters in to finish the game.
Blake Griffin vs. Karl-Anthony Towns
It was a great match up to see Griffin and Towns go at it in a back and forth of two of the NBA’s best big men. After good defense from Towns that made it hard early in the game, Griffin made adjustments, even sidestepping Towns in transition to throw down a vicious dunk.
Clippers bench had trouble with Timberwolves bench
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The Timberwolves gave the Clippers problems with their length and athletic play. The bench had trouble with the T-Wolves bench in spurts. Once the starters would take a seat, the bench would come in and slowly let the Timberwolves back into the game.
Only Jamal Crawford finished with a positive +/-, while the rest of the bench were in the negative. The bench did give the starters time to rest, and if the Wolves would not have gotten within 11, then the Clippers’ starters would have been able to call it a night.
Notes
Griffin scored his 9,000th point as a Clipper and is the fastest to 9,000 points, 4,000 rebounds, and 1,500 assists since Larry Bird. You’d be hard pressed to join better Hall of Fame talent than that.
Next: Is the Clippers' dominant defense sustainable?
The LA Clippers play next on Monday against the Brooklyn Nets at Staples Center, and start their spell of four games in six days.