MINNEAPOLIS — Kawhi Leonard had 32 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 89-88 on Sunday in a physical, defensive game between two of the top four teams in the Western Conference.
Norman Powell tied a season high with 24 points, and Paul George added 15 points but shot just 5 of 16 from the field and was 3 of 11 from 3-point range.
“It was an old-school game from 1985,” Los Angeles coach Tyronn Lue said. “But I loved the way we continued to compete and guard, defend.”
The Clippers played without Russell Westbrook after he fractured his left hand in a home win over Washington on Friday night. Ivica Zubac returned after missing two games due to illness.
Anthony Edwards scored 27 points for Minnesota. The Timberwolves have lost back-to-back games for just the third time this season.
“It was a very physical game,” said Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, who had 12 points and 16 rebounds. “I thought there was a lot of touching, grabbing, just like in a playoff game. I thought we started the game the right way. I think over time it was difficult for us to get what we wanted.
Leonard broke an 84-all tie with a layup with 2:01 remaining and added a free throw after being fouled by Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns’ dunk with 1:40 left brought Minnesota within one, but Anthony Edwards missed a 3 and Towns was off-target on a jumper before Leonard finished the game with a pair of free throws.
Minnesota had an extra possession but couldn’t find an open 3 and Edwards ended up making a layup. But the Wolves couldn’t foul the inbounds pass as time expired.
“It was a tough game, neither team shot over 40 percent from the field, but that was my fault,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “I had to take a timeout, get organized on that penultimate possession we had there. It’s a hotly contested game. I just didn’t make enough shots.
The Timberwolves, who entered the day one game ahead of Oklahoma City in the West, had won four straight games entering the matchup with Los Angeles, including the first two games of the season.
“We just had to stay with it, stay with it,” George said. “The shots weren’t falling on both ends. I thought we stood there and played a full 48 minutes. We weren’t shooting. The only other thing we could have done is make it difficult for them to make shots.
Towns had 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Minnesota shot 38.8% and had 15 turnovers, leading to 20 points for the Clippers. Los Angeles shot 37.6 percent but had just nine turnovers, including six in the final three quarters. Partly because of this, the Clippers held a 19-0 advantage in fast break points.
James Harden had 10 assists for Los Angeles, but shot 0-of-10.
FOLLOWING
Clippers: At Milwaukee Monday night.
Timberwolves: Host Portland Monday night.
——
