The Timberwolves came into this game with the Clippers trying to get back in the win column after their loss to Sacramento on Friday. All of the Timberwolves players were back in the lineup ready to go. The Clippers took a huge blow the other night losing Russell Westbrook to a fractured hand. So they were without “The Brodie” for this matchup.
This was a defensive battle here at Target Center as both teams were trying to figure each other out. Kawhi Leonard was able to start attacking and getting to his spots against the Timberwolves defense. It seemed as though the rest of the Clippers knew that Kawhi was feeling it and was letting him cook. Today Kawhi took 26 shots and made 12 as he finished the game with a game high 32 points. Some of the contested shots that Kawhi was making tonight reminded me of his championship run in Toronto. Harden was able to feed Kawhi in this game right where he needed it as he finished with 10 assists. The Timberwolves were getting caught in screen movements and flares when Kawhi had the ball and he was able to make them pay.
Norman Powell had himself a game off the bench channeling his inner Malik Monk from the other game Minnesota had on Friday. Norman was hitting some tough contested jumpers and went 6-8 from the 3 point line. His scoring alone helped catapult the Clippers to the win because without his scoring this would be a lopsided score. Norman Powell gave Coach Ty Lue some great minutes tonight and made winning plays tonight alongside Kawhi Leonard and that’s why they were able to sneak out of Minnesota with the win.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were able to hang around in this game. Karl-Anthony Towns started out hot with 12 points in the first quarter but then he fizzled out with only 6 points the remainder of the game. KAT has the ability to take over a game just had to get more looks because the Clippers had Powell/Mann on him during switches. I’m sure the Wolves will look back at some of those missed opportunities with KAT. Rudy finished with a double double today with 12 points and 16 rebounds as he made sure that the Clippers didn’t beat them inside. Rudy Gobert shut down Zubac as he only had 2 points today. Rudy had 3 blocks in this game and was leading that defensive charge. Anthony Edwards had a quiet 27 points on the night but the competitiveness in him really wanted that one. Ant was able to hit some big shots for the Timberwolves throughout the game to keep things close but at the end the Clippers came out on top.
The Timberwolves have the Portland Trailblazers coming to town tomorrow as they will be playing in another back to back while looking to get back in the win column.
Photo Credit: (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
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