LA Clippers clinch playoff berth with dominating win over Timberwolves

The LA Clippers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-111 on Tuesday night, clinching a postseason berth in the process.

Here’s some news that most NBA fans probably didn’t expect to read this season: The LA Clippers are going to the playoffs. Yes, that same LA Clippers team — give or take — that was actually projected to be a 20-win team this season will be a fixture in this year’s playoffs.

The LA Clippers officially punched their ticket on Tuesday night, after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in a game that was hardly as close as the final score reflects.

Led by Danilo Gallinari (25 points, 10 rebounds) and Lou Williams (20 points, seven assists), the Clippers jumped out to a 42-23 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Things eventually got tight in the fourth quarter, when the Timberwolves cut LA’s lead to six with just over seven minutes left on the clock. But the Clippers answered with a 9-0 run, putting them up 113-98 and shutting the door on any hopes that Minnesota had of coming back.

The win was important for the Clippers, as it helped them gain distance on the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs, but there’s hardly a storyline more important from this game than LA clinching a spot in the Western Conference playoffs.

This was not a spot that belonged to them. Before the season began, all the buzz in Los Angeles was surrounding LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, and perhaps rightfully so. After all, James is the best player the NBA has seen since Michael Jordan, and is considered by some to be the greatest player of all time.

It wasn’t long, though, before talk shifted to the “other” Los Angeles team, after they started the season winning 15 of their first 21 games.

Never exiting the playoff race, the Clippers strung together win after win, until it seemed like a given that the team would be competing for a spot in the postseason up until the very end of the season — similar to how the 2017-2018 season came to an end, when the Clippers were eliminated with less than five games left on their schedule.

However, since the All-Star break, the LA Clippers have been one of the most dominant teams in the league. With new additions Landry Shamet and Ivica Zubac taking on key roles in the starting rotation, LA has crushed nearly all opposition — winning 13 of their last 16 games. Now, the Clippers have vaulted themselves high into the standings, and could potentially compete for homecourt in the first round.

As it stands, the Clippers would play the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs — and while the Rockets clearly outmatch LA in terms of overall talent, the Clippers are a physical team that has nothing to lose. No one will want to play the Clippers in the first round, and that may help LA take a few games for themselves.

Whatever the outcome, this Clippers season should be viewed as a monumental success. Doc Rivers is right in the mix for Coach of the Year, Lou Williams has the Sixth Man of the Year award all but locked up, and Patrick Beverley will likely highlight an All-Defensive team. That cast has been most vital in helping the Clippers be the overachievers they’ve been all season.

And of course, none of this would have happened without the supporting crew, too — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Montrezl Harrell and Danilo Gallinari have each had fantastic seasons, and their impact is quite honestly unstatable.

With a relatively light schedule ahead, the LA Clippers could legitimately push for a 50-win season, which would be their sixth all-time. So long as they continue to play at a high level, any team is going to have a hard time stopping the Clippers.