Timberwolves stay a step ahead in win over Clippers

Sunday night’s game between the Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers had a little bit of everything.

Plenty of star power. Lots of intrigue — the two teams were separated by just two games in the Western Conference standings entering the contest. Even some chippiness, with Terance Mann and Rudy Gobert getting into a little scuffle in the third quarter.

In the end, the Timberwolves looked a step ahead of the Clippers for most of the night in a 109-105 win at Target Center, even as Los Angeles attempted a spirited fourth-quarter comeback.

Minnesota (28-11) particularly looked in control during the third quarter behind a dominant frame by Anthony Edwards. He hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the quarter that gave him 20 points for that period alone and put the Wolves up 13 with 12 minutes left to play.

The Clippers (25-14) trailed by 10 after the first quarter but methodically whittled their deficit to one by halftime. But the Timberwolves’ unrelenting defense — particularly efforts from Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker — made it difficult on Los Angeles’ stars.

"We got big stops, kept getting big stops when we needed it," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. "All credit to the guys. Thought their defense was outstanding all night long. The 1-on-1 defense was elite."

James Harden finished with just 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Paul George mustered 16 points while shooting at a 5-of-19 clip. Kawhi Leonard was the only Clippers star to kind of find a rhythm, scoring 26 while shooting 9 of 19 from the field.

The Clippers were down Ivica Zubac, who was listed as a starter in the minutes leading up to the game but was scratched at the last second due to right calf tightness.

Limiting the Clippers’ firepower was a collective effort. Gobert had four blocks. Naz Reid, McDaniels and Edwards each had a pair of steals. And the Timberwolves held the Clippers to just 43.4% shooting from the field on the night. 

Los Angeles did, however, get a nice effort off the bench from Norman Powell, who finished with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He was one of just three Clippers to finish with a positive plus-minus with a team-best plus-11 on the night. 

Powell hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with just over a minute remaining that cut the Wolves' lead down to 103-100. But Gobert, who struggled from the free-throw line early on in the night, hit four straight from the charity stripe to ice the game. 

Edwards finished with 33 points, nine rebounds and six assists. He had plenty of help, with four other Wolves finishing in double figures. In addition to his tight defense on Leonard, McDaniels provided 14 points on the offensive end.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 17. Gobert had 15 points and 18 boards. Kyle Anderson continued his offensive resurgence, scoring 10 points to go along with three assists.

From the opening tip until the final buzzer, the Timberwolves looked every part of the team that’s risen to first place in the West. And they showed Sunday that it won’t be so easy to knock them off the top of the podium. 

Final key stats

• Anthony Edwards: 33 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals 
• Karl-Anthony Towns: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
• Rudy Gobert: 15 points, 18 rebounds, 4 blocks 
• Jaden McDaniels: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals 
• Kyle Anderson: 10 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal
• Kawhi Leonard: 26 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
• Normal Powell: 24 points, 2 blocks, 1 rebound