|
 "Nobody expected us to win this game in a back-to-back and with the
way the Clippers have been rolling, but we just dug deep and won the
game," Wiggins said.
With Wiggins scoring a game-high 31 points, the Minnesota
Timberwolves snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Los Angeles
Clippers with a 108-102 victory Wednesday night at Staples Center.
"It was a huge win for us because we needed at least one win on the
road, so this was really big," Wiggins said.
The Timberwolves lost road games to the Utah Jazz on Friday, the
Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday to the Los Angeles Lakers on
Tuesday at Staples before prevailing against the Clippers to end
their four-game trip at 1-3.
"The whole team played well and we executed well down the stretch,"
said Wiggins, who scored 21 of his points in the first half.
Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns, who went scoreless in the first
half after foul trouble limited him to 11 minutes, scored 13 of his
17 points in the third quarter. Towns also had 12 rebounds.
"We played really well tonight," said Towns, who admitted he didn't
sleep much after Minnesota's 119-115 setback to the Lakers. "We
fought back, did a great job of containing the lead and keeping it
on our side. Momentum was great. We did a good job tonight. The
biggest thing we did tonight was fight. We fought the whole game and
did a great job of keeping the game in control."
Guard Zach LaVine came off the bench to score 17 points for the
Timberwolves, who also snapped a five-game losing streak and a
12-game road skid. Forward Gorgui Dieng added 12 points and 10
rebounds.
Minnesota hadn't defeated Los Angeles since March 5, 2012.
Point guard Chris Paul had 22 points and eight assists, guard Jamal
Crawford scored 21 points, and center DeAndre Jordan collected 18
points and 15 rebounds for the Clippers, whose four-game winning
streak ended.
The Timberwolves benefitted from Paul receiving a controversial
technical foul from official Lauren Holtkamp with 20.6 seconds
remaining in the contest. Holtkamp whistled Paul for a foul on guard
Ricky Rubio, then followed it with a technical after an exchange
between the two.
"That was a big call," Paul said. "(Rubio) missed one free throw.
That would have put us down by three instead of four."
Paul and Holtkamp have history. The NBA fined Paul $25,000 last
season after he criticized the female official, saying that
officiating in the NBA "might not be for her." Paul made the
comments after Holtkamp angered him by ringing him up with a 'T' in
a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in February 2015.
[to top of second column] |
Rubio's two foul shots gave Minnesota a 104-100 lead, which turned
out to be the difference.
A turnover by Clippers guard J.J. Redick, who managed just five
points on 1-of-9 shooting, led to a bucket by Towns for a six-point
cushion with 18.5 seconds left. Two Paul free throws sliced the
deficit to four before Minnesota forward Tayshaun Prince, who
hounded Redick for much of the contest, sealed the win with two free
throws with 12.2 seconds left.
"I thought we were a step slow on everything," said Jordan, who made
seven of eight field-goal attempts but managed only four of 10 free
throws.
The Clippers (32-17) held a 55-53 lead at the break before the
Timberwolves (15-36) rallied in the third quarter.
Clippers guard Austin Rivers was ejected with 8:10 remaining in the
second period after picking up two technical fouls for arguing a
non-call. Rivers finished with four points in seven minutes.
Minnesota again played without forward Kevin Garnett (sore right
knee), guard Kevin Martin (sore right wrist) and center Nikola
Pekovic (sore right foot).
NOTES: The bench has been among the Clippers' strengths recently.
The reserves, who tied a season high with 58 points to only 18 for
the Chicago Bulls' backups in Sunday's 120-93 rout, have outscored
the opposition by at least 15 points in each of the past four games.
"How many teams come off the bench with Jamal Crawford, who's got
three 50-point games in his career?" said Minnesota interim coach
Sam Mitchell of the Clippers' backup guard, who scored 21 points
Wednesday. "In any quarter, he can score in double digits. He can
just kill you by himself." ... Injured Clippers F Blake Griffin will
not travel with the club regardless of the NBA's ruling on a
possible suspension. The Clippers kick off their four-game swing
Friday at the Orlando Magic. ... The Timberwolves host the Bulls on
Saturday.
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