Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Clippers Match Player Stats On Dec 06, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 7, 2017

LOS ANGELES -- Karl-Anthony Towns scored 21 points with 12 rebounds, as all five Minnesota Timberwolves reached double digits in points during a 113-107 victory Wednesday over the injury-ravaged Los Angeles Clippers.

It was the Timberwolves' second victory over Los Angeles in a span of four days, having defeated their Western Conference foe Sunday at Minneapolis.

Minnesota's Jimmy Butler, who scored a season-high 33 points against the Clippers on Sunday, added 19 more in Wednesday's rematch. Jeff Teague also scored 19, while Andrew Wiggins and Taj Gibson scored 16 each, with Gibson collecting 14 of those in the first half. Gibson had 14 rebounds.

Lou Williams scored 23 points off the bench for the Clippers, who have lost all four games since forward Blake Griffin was lost for approximately two months with a sprained left knee. Austin Rivers also scored 23, while DeAndre Jordan added 18 points with 21 rebounds.

It was a bit of fortuitous scheduling for the Timberwolves that they faced the Clippers twice this week after Griffin was injured. They had lost five of seven games before winning Sunday, and then lost to a Memphis Grizzlies team Monday that was in the midst of an 11-game losing streak.

Yet neither victory over the Clippers came easy for the Timberwolves. On Sunday, the Clippers pulled within four in the final minute before losing 112-106. On Wednesday in L.A., the Clippers had a chance to cut the deficit to three with 3:27 remaining, but Towns blocked a shot inside by Jordan. The Clippers never threatened again.

The Clippers were also without guard Patrick Beverley, who is lost for the season after knee surgery. Guard Milos Teodosic has been out since the second game of the season with a foot injury, but could return as early as next week.

Forward Danilo Gallinari played in his first game since Nov. 5 after he missed 13 games with a strained left hip. He started and scored five points with two rebounds in 25 minutes.

NOTES: Clippers C DeAndre Jordan, one of only five players to average at least 11 rebounds and two blocks per game against the Timberwolves since the start of the 1985-86 season, had 21 rebounds but did not record a block against Minnesota on Wednesday. ... Clippers rookie G C.J. Williams has two career starts: Sunday at Minnesota and Wednesday at home against the Timberwolves. ... Minnesota G Jamal Crawford, who played five seasons with the Clippers, received a first-quarter video tribute and then went out and scored 11 points against his former team. ... Timberwolves F Nemanja Bjelica rejoined the team in Los Angeles after not traveling to Memphis for Monday's game, but still missed his eighth consecutive contest with a sprained foot.