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Game Story
Sorry to spoil the recap, but everything that happened tonight was exactly as you would’ve expected.
You would think that after three whole days off, the Los Angeles Clippers would be well-rested against the Minnesota Timberwolves. They had just thrashed the Wolves by 19 at Target Center as Kawhi Leonard dominated the game with 41 points.
Tonight? Minnesota held him to zero points.
That’s not a typo.
Leonard rolled a donut in the box score. Including minutes played. The future Hall of Famer was nursing a sore ankle despite the 72+ hours of rest. Were the Clippers load managing? Is this foreshadowing of what’s coming down from Adam Silver’s office? To be honest, it’s expected that Leonard’s availability is always in flux.
To make matters worse for the sparce home fans in attendance, Los Angeles was also missing John Collins (concussion) who was their second leading scorer in the previous meeting.
Meanwhile, this was a Timberwolves fans worst enemy: A classic low-reward, high-risk game.
After struggling to barely squeaking out a “moral loss” win against an injury ravaged Portland Trail Blazers team two days ago, Minnesota lacked great energy out of gates today as well. A pair of Donte DiVincenzo triples and a Jaden McDaniels dunk seemed like a good sign though at first. Heck, even Anthony Edwards came out putting on a show for his large fan base here in Los Angeles.
However, as expected, the Wolves defense was the problem.
Despite shooting 61.1% in the opening quarter, the Wolves allowed the Clippers to score 23 of 27 first quarter points at the basket or free throw line. It was a real jump scare to look down at the box score after the opening stanza and see that Los Angeles logged just one three-point attempt. Things got a little better for them by halftime though. They hit a whole one three-pointer out of 12 attempts!
Yet somehow, they still trailed by only six points.
What exactly was going on? Minnesota had no shortage of opportunities to extend their lead well over double-digits, but poor offensive execution capped their upside. Spacing was an issue. They were cold from perimeter. The floor spacing was just off. It was essentially a game straight out of the 90’s, as only two players in the entire game scoring in double-digits (Edwards and DiVincenzo).
If you thought Chris Finch had a rousing half time speech that woke up his team, then you would have been mistaken.
A fracas between McDaniels and Kris Dunn looked like it might’ve sparked some life into Minnesota, but to no avail. All it did was garner a flagrant foul which, to be honest, he should’ve gotten in the first half for discarding Kris Dunn. Jaden losing his cool? Expected.
When I asked Chris Finch after the game about how a team of emotional players can balance playing with force, but not losing their cool, he dropped a pretty awesome bar.
The Wolves continued with a flurry of one or no-pass possessions after this. It felt as though every player took a shot like My Hero by Foo Fighters was playing in the background. Even the steadfast Mike Conley was dusted off and immediately airballed a three-pointer. The Clippers slowly, but surely inched ahead by as many as six points which felt like more like sixteen.
Given how porous Minnesota’s defense was, losing the free throw battle by 11 in the third quarter was expected.
Everything was setting up for a disappointing final quarter for the Wolves. There was no rhythm to the game and it certainly played into the zombie Clippers hands. Choppy. Grimy. In the mud. Typically, this would be a type of scenario where someone like Julius Randle would be able to thrive in the grind, but he was still seemingly on another planet. Still. The box score only accredited him with two turnovers and a one of 10 mark from the field, though he certainly played much worse than that.
Thankfully for the visitors, DiVincenzo continued his excellent play from the first half. He single-handedly kept the game from going completely off the rails like that Tobey Maguire Spider-Man holding back a train with his body GIF. A big triple. Assist for another trey. Two straight illegal screen fouls drawn. Another steal. He was everywhere.
Meanwhile, McDaniels continued his personal vendetta against seemingly every Clipper. He was terrorizing Bennedict Mathurin all night, helping the Wolves maintain a small lead. All of this bought just enough time for Edwards to don his cape and rescue his team once again.
Just as we all expected.
There was murmuring about extracurriculars between Edwards and Finch, as caught on video after this shot. According to Edwards, his coach told him to pass the ball after he had his a tough fade-away mid-range shot right before that three-point dagger. According to Finch during the postgame press conference, he denied telling Edwards not to shoot.
You be the judge.
No matter what was said, it’s clear Edwards understands the importance of his relationship with his coach and continues to beat the drum that he’s tight with Finch. “Me and my coach got the best relationship ever. He be right most of the time.” He may have his flaws on and off the court, but he continues to flex his emotional intelligence in these types of situations where others may try sow doubt. Just as expected.
After all the dust (bricks?) settle, Minnesota earned a stronger hold on the fifth seed in the Western Conference. They’re still just half a game out of fourth, and one game out of third place. All that matters right now are wins, no matter how you get them. Should it have been an easy win today? Yes. Was it an ugly “moral loss” win again? Sure.
But what else did you expect?
Box Score
Comment of the Night
Up Next
Minnesota finally gets two days off for the first time since the All-Star break before a marquee matinee showdown against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, March 1 at 2:30 pm CT. An early tip, in Denver, at the end of a road trip? Sounds like a recipe for an unexpected win! Or maybe just a delicious recipe recap. Either way, the Wolves will look to avoid getting swept 4-0 by the Nuggets this season, just a year after Minnesota swept Denver.
The game will be broadcast on ABC.