Clippers 90, Timberwolves 77
Jamal Crawford scored 22 points off the bench and Blake Griffin added 20 as visiting Los Angeles won its third straight without Chris Paul.
Caron Butler added 12 points and Lamar Odom collected 12 rebounds and six assists for the Clippers, who have won six of their last seven. Paul (bruised right kneecap) is listed as day-to-day and will be a game-time decision when Los Angeles hosts Washington on Saturday.
Luke Ridnour scored 21 points and Andrei Kirilenko had 15 as Minnesota dropped its fifth straight.
The Timberwolves were within 70-65 after Alexey Shved’s short jumper with 11:22 left in the fourth quarter but hit only two field goals over the next 7 1/2 minutes as the Clippers pulled away. Griffin scored four points and Crawford connected from beyond the arc in a 7-0 burst that stretched the lead to 86-71 with 4:33 left.
Kirilenko stopped the bleeding with a jumper but Minnesota would not get within single digits the rest of the way.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Timberwolves C Nikola Pekovic (right quad contusion) left in the third quarter and Shved (ankle) was injured in the fourth. … Eric Bledsoe made his third straight start in place of Paul and struggled to 1-of-7 from the floor but had six rebounds and four steals in 23 minutes. … Paul and Griffin were both named starters for the Western Conference All-Star team.