Timberwolves Dominate Clippers, 107-91

The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, 107-91, at Target
Center on Wednesday evening. The Timberwolves (26-37) boast some of the most
exciting young talent in the league, but have consistently found defense to be
their Achilles’ heel. However, they found a way to impressively reverse course
Wednesday, styming a talented Clippers (38-26) squad at full strength and
goading them into an uncharacteristic 16 turnovers. Minnesota ambushed their
visitors to the tune of a 31-19 lead after one quarter, before Los Angeles made
up some ground before halftime with a 36-point explosion of their own in the
second period. However, the Timberwolves effectively put the game away in the
third, outscoring the Clippers by a double-digit margin a second time, 24-13.
That left them with a comfortable 82-68 lead heading into the final 12 minutes,
one they were able to sustain without much struggle. DeAndre Jordan led the way
for Los Angeles with a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double that also included one
assist and one block. Blake Griffin provided 16 points, four rebounds and two
assists. J.J. Redick turned in 14 points, one rebound, one assist, two steals
and one block. Mareese Speights led the second unit with 12 points and six
rebounds, while Austin Rivers totaled 10 points, three assists, two rebounds and
one block off the bench as well. Chris Paul had an off night shooting (3-9 FG),
but he managed to add 10 assists, three rebounds and one steal to his seven
points. Karl-Anthony Towns once again paced the Timberwolves, generating a
29-point, 14-rebound double-double and adding two assists, all over just 27
minutes. Andrew Wiggins overcame a 5-for-17 shooting night with a perfect
10-for-10 tally from the free-throw line to compile 20 points. He added three
assists, two rebounds and one steal. Shabazz Muhammad drew a rather rare start
and went for 17 points, six rebounds and one steal. Ricky Rubio managed a
15-point, 12-assist double-double that also included six rebounds and two
steals. Gorgui Dieng chipped in a modest seven points but also provided nine
rebounds, two assists, four steals and two blocks. The Clippers will try to put
the loss behind them quickly, as they have a Thursday night road showdown on tap
with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Timberwolves remain home to tangle with the
Golden State Warriors on Friday night.