Edwards & Russell lead the Timberwolves past the Clippers

In a play-in game on Tuesday night, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell combined for 59 points to help the Minnesota Timberwolves overcome a bad night for Karl-Anthony Towns and win the Los Angeles Clippers 109–104.

Russell had 29 points and six assists to lead the Wolves to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and a first-round meeting with Memphis. Edwards scored 30 points with five three-pointers.

After shooting 2 for 10 in the first half, Paul George finished with 34 points for the Clippers, who have a second opportunity to make the playoffs with a home game against either New Orleans or San Antonio on Friday for the No. 8 seed. Reggie Jackson (17 points) and Norman Powell (16 points) each contributed in spurts, but the Clippers were unable to put the Timberwolves away in the first half.

Towns only scored 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting and fouled out midway through the fourth quarter, but his teammates rose to the occasion.

With 8:54 remaining, Jackson’s three-pointer gave the Clippers their greatest lead of the game, 93–83, but Russell hit the game-winning three-pointer for a 97–95 lead that the Wolves never lost. He applauded the audience for their punctuation. After blowing by Powell at the top of the key, Edwards followed with a tomahawk slam.

The crowd was enthralled by this fast-paced, rapidly growing club, which is headed to the playoffs for the second time in 17 years, but the excitement faded in the third quarter when George regained his stride with a smooth 15 points.

Towns then fouled out with 7:34 remaining, less than two minutes after re-entering the game.

The Clippers have been without star Kawhi Leonard for the entirety of the season as he recovers from an ACL reconstruction following an injury he sustained in the second round of last year’s playoffs, but the recent return of George and Powell from long-term injuries has helped them get closer to the form they showed last summer when they reached the Western Conference finals. Powell was a last-minute addition from Portland in a super-sub role.

During the regular season, the Clippers had success disrupting Towns, winning three of the four matchups and losing one in January when George was absent, and they wasted no time targeting the two-time All-Star center from every angle. His main tormentor was Nicolas Batum, but the Clippers as a whole were involved.

For the first time in more than three years, the Towns failed to make a basket in the first half, going 0-for-7. His lone points came on a pair of free throws, and when he got the call, he grinned sarcastically and pumped his first.

STAYING THE COURSE

Towns withdrew with his fourth foul with 3:48 left before halftime with the Wolves behind 45–38, but the game was delayed for less than a minute after a woman from the audience sneaked onto the floor during a dead ball on the other end. She stuck her palm to the hardwood along the baseline and sprawled out before security could tear her away, staging an animal rights protest.

The Timberwolves made the most of the extended break. Russell finished the half with two mid-range floaters and a three-pointer, helping them to a 53-51 halftime lead.

ILLNESSES OF BEVERLEY

The most important player in this battle might have been Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley, who spent the previous four seasons with the Clippers as a fierce defender and ace agitator.

Beverley was fined $25,000 by the NBA soon before tipoff for his “improper conduct” toward referee David Guthrie in Minnesota’s previous game, for which he exclaimed, “You’re garbage!” on his way off the floor after being ejected for a second technical penalty.

After a scuffle with Marcus Morris Sr. in the third quarter, Beverley received a technical foul. Later in the period, Beverley struck an off-balance three-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer, but the crowd-pleasing shot was later overturned by replay review because it was a split-second too late.