THE Los Angeles Clippers And Minnesota Timberwolves I hope to have some stars back on the field when they meet in a key season-ending showdown Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Anyone with time and plenty of money to buy tickets could have spotted the two exhausted teams Sunday in downtown Los Angeles when the Clippers lost a 124-117 afternoon decision to the Milwaukee Bucks and the Timberwolves lost 120-109 against the Los Angeles Lakers. the same building later that night.
The Clippers hope to be whole again after Kawhi Leonard (groin) and Paul George (knee) did not play against the Bucks. The game began 22 hours after the Clippers’ Saturday game against the Chicago Bulls, taking into account the time change.
Despite being shorthanded against the Bucks, the Clippers led by seven in the first half and led 62-59 at halftime. But they were dominated 32-23 in a decisive third quarter.
Norman Powell had 26 points coming off the bench in the loss, with Amir Coffey and PJ Tucker starting and combining for 23 points and 16 rebounds. Bones Hyland continues to spend more time with Russell Westbrook (hand) out for an extended period, scoring 12 points with five assists. Brandon Boston Jr. contributed five points and five rebounds.
“Just seeing our kids get opportunities, Bones and Brandon playing well, PJ starting, bringing that physicality, I thought he played well too,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said . “Just seeing different looks, seeing different players as we head into the playoffs, it was good to see our kids step on the field and get a chance to play in a big game like that -this, and I hope we can build from this.”
The Timberwolves were also shorthanded, playing without Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) for the third straight game of an extended absence. Also out was Rudy Gobert (hamstring), who could return by Tuesday.
Like the Clippers, the Timberwolves were competitive on Sunday, leading 92-91 through three quarters. But the Lakers opened the fourth quarter on a 16-2 run and a long 21-4 run to take control.
“We got off to a slow start offensively in the third and fourth quarter,” Minnesota head coach Chris Finch said. “I was confident we would come back, but with so many second shots (for the Lakers), it’s tough at this point.”
Without any of their big men, the Wolves saw the Lakers’ Anthony Davis score 27 points with 25 rebounds. Davis pulled down 10 offensive rebounds.
“He should have dominated us. He had size, length, he had all that,” Finch said. “He was in the paint for seven or eight seconds every time they shot the ball.”
Naz Reid and Anthony Edwards each scored 25 points for Minnesota, whose defensive deficiencies were made even more evident by the Lakers’ 53.0 percent shooting, while getting clobbered 56-38 in the rebounding battle.
Minnesota has lost four of its last six games and is 1-2 entering a six-game road trip.
This is the final regular season meeting of the season between the Clippers and Timberwolves, with Minnesota holding a 2-1 advantage. The Clippers won the last meeting 89-88 on March 3 in Minnesota.
–Field level media
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