Anthony Edwards Scored 31 Points And Delivered The Decisive Basket Late As The Minnesota Timberwolves Defeated The Short-Handed Los Angeles Clippers 94-88 On Thursday Night In Inglewood, California.
Donte DiVincenzo Added 18 Points While Jaden McDaniels And Ayo Dosunmu Each Contributed 12 For Minnesota, Which Improved To 5-1 Since Feb. 9 And 3-1 Since The All-Star Break. Rudy Gobert Anchored The Interior With 13 Rebounds As The Timberwolves Moved To 2-0 On Their Three-Game Road Trip.
Edwards, Returning To The Arena Where He Recently Earned All-Star Game MVP Honors, Shot 12-Of-24 From The Field. He Sealed The Victory With A Step-Back 3-Pointer Over Two Defenders That Pushed Minnesota’s Lead To 92-88 With 42.9 Seconds Remaining.
Derrick Jones Jr. Led Los Angeles With 18 Points, While Bennedict Mathurin Added 14 And Kris Dunn Scored 11. The Clippers, Playing Without Injured Star Kawhi Leonard (Ankle), Dropped Their Third Straight Game For The First Time Since December And Struggled Offensively Throughout.
Los Angeles Managed Just 38 First-Half Points And Shot 40.5% Overall, Including A Frigid 4-Of-22 (18.2%) In The Second Quarter. Minnesota Was Only Slightly Better Offensively, Shooting 43.4%, But Capitalized On Key Late Possessions.
Despite Scoring Only 15 Points In The Second Quarter, The Timberwolves Still Outpaced The Clippers, Who Had Just 11 In The Period, To Take A 44-38 Halftime Lead Behind 12 Points From DiVincenzo And 11 From Edwards.
The Clippers Led By Six In The Third And Carried A 68-63 Edge Into The Fourth, But Edwards’ Driving Reverse Layup Put Minnesota Ahead For Good At 76-74 With 7:40 Left. Minnesota Visits Denver On Sunday, While Los Angeles Hosts New Orleans.
