Timberwolves pull away from Clippers
MINNEAPOLIS -- Karl-Anthony Towns had 29 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota, and Ricky Rubio added 15 points and 12 assists as the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Clippers 107-91 on Wednesday night.
Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points for Minnesota, which won for the third time in four games and beat Los Angeles for the second time this season. Shabazz Muhammed added 17 points for the Timberwolves in a spot start.
DeAndre Jordan had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers. Blake Griffin added 16 points, but Chris Paul had just seven points on 3-of-9 shooting as Los Angeles shot 42.2 percent as a team. Paul had 10 assists.
With Towns leading the way, Minnesota controlled the Clippers down low, despite the presence of Jordan and Griffin. The Timberwolves outscored Los Angeles 62-40 in the paint and held a 50-36 rebounding advantage.
As Minnesota tries to get into playoff position for the first time since 2004, they returned home this week with a homestand against Portland, Los Angeles and the Golden State Warriors. Monday's game against the Trail Blazers was postponed after the court became slippery due to the ice sheet underneath the court and unexpectedly warm temperatures.
The Wolves then raced out to a 21-6 lead as the Clippers missed nine of their first 12 shots. Los Angeles would climb back in the game and got within one point early in the third quarter. Yet, Minnesota regained momentum each time. The Clippers' only lead of the game was 2-0.
A chippy game featured plenty of back-and-forth between the Wolves and Los Angeles players. At one point, Griffin and Minnesota's Gorgui Dieng had to be pulled away from each other. Towns was visibly frustrated in getting called for three fouls in the first half to take him out of the game.
But Rubio controlled the pace, Muhammad provided a spark in the third quarter with 11 points and four rebounds in the period and the Wolves pulled away from the veteran Clippers.
NOTES: Minnesota G Brandon Rush missed the game with an illness. Shabazz Muhammad took Rush's spot in the starting lineup. ... The Timberwolves signed G Lance Stephenson to a second-day contract earlier in the day. Stephenson was signed after recovering from an ankle injury at the end of his first 10-day contract. ... Minnesota C Karl-Anthony Towns had the 100th double-double of his career, becoming the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach the 100 mark at 21 years old and 113 days. Dwight Howard is the fastest, reaching the mark at 20 years old, 351 days. Towns had a double-double in the first half, the sixth time he's done so since the All-Star break. ... Los Angeles F Marreese Speights scored 12 points off the bench, his first double-digit point performance since scoring 15 at Toronto on Feb. 6. Speights was 2 of 4 from the 3-point line.