Clippers at Timberwolves
Fresh off their first home loss, the Los Angeles Clippers will get a sense of just how close they are to the top of the Western Conference with a tough two-game road trip. That trip begins on Wednesday at the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are one of the few teams that can match the Clippers’ scoring punch and their strength on the interior. The Timberwolves are winners of three straight at home and are returning after a 104-100 loss at Washington on Tuesday.
Minnesota came within a series of missed shots in the final seconds of knocking off the Clippers in Los Angeles on Nov. 11, when Kevin Martin missed a jumper, Nikola Pekovic missed a put-back and Kevin Love could not get a tip to fall at the buzzer of the 109-107 loss. The Timberwolves have split four games since that setback and are averaging 110.8 points over those four contests. The Clippers are the highest-scoring team in the NBA at an average of 109.3 points but shot just 39.5 percent in a 106-102 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (7-4): Los Angeles had no such shooting troubles against the Timberwolves, pouring it in at a 55-percent clip as Blake Griffin (25 points, 10 rebounds) and Chris Paul (21 points, 11 assists) both had big games. Paul credited the improvement in Griffin’s game as one of the reasons the team has gotten off to a strong start. “(He’ll) tell you in a heartbeat, every time I kick it to him I tell him, ‘Shoot. Shoot it. Shoot it.’ Because nobody works on it as much as (Griffin) does,” Paul said, “so I have the utmost confidence in him.” Griffin has put up four straight double-doubles and is averaging 25 points in that span.
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (7-5): Minnesota is enduring the second night of a back-to-back after the quick trip to Washington on Tuesday but is 5-1 at home and won its last two there by a combined 47 points. Kevin Love had his customary double-double on Tuesday but the Timberwolves went quiet in the second half while squandering a 12-point lead at the break. Martin struggled to 4-of-17 from the field against the Wizards and is just 4-for-19 from 3-point range over his last three games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Los Angeles has won its last three trips to Minnesota by an average of 10.7 points and has taken six straight in the series.
2. Minnesota rookie F Shabazz Muhammad (ankle) missed his second straight game on Tuesday and is day-to-day.
3. Paul has recorded a double-double in each of the first 11 games, the longest streak to start a season since Magic Johnson went the first 11 games in 1990-91.