Julius Randle scored 16 of his 20 points in the first quarter as the Minnesota Timberwolves extended their winning streak to three games with an easy 108-80 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday at Inglewood, Calif.
Anthony Edwards added 16 points, Josh Minott had 13 and Jaden McDaniels and Mike Conley each put up 11 for Minnesota. The Timberwolves continue to distance themselves from a four-game losing streak after Edwards ripped the team’s effort last week and criticized the communication level.
The team’s renewed level of commitment began Friday in a 93-92 victory over the Clippers in Minneapolis.
Bones Hyland scored 18 points and Derrick Jones Jr. added 14 for the Clippers, who had their nine-game home winning streak end. Amir Coffey scored 12 points and Ivica Zubac pulled down 10 rebounds for Los Angeles, which lost for just the third time in 11 games overall.
The Clippers were without leading scorer Norman Powell on the second night of a back-to-back set after he recently returned from a hamstring injury. Terance Mann (finger) and Kevin Porter Jr. (ankle) also were out.
The Timberwolves showed they meant business early, taking a double-digit lead at 22-12 and going up 33-14 at the end of the opening quarter by shooting 52.4 percent from the floor.
Minnesota led by as many as 29 points in the second quarter and took a 59-32 advantage into halftime.
The Clippers’ James Harden shot 0-for-7 from the floor and 0-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half as Los Angeles hit 28.6 percent. Harden finished 1-for-10 from the floor while scoring five points.
The Timberwolves went up by 30 points early in the second half and pushed their lead past 40 points at 86-45 on a dunk by Nickeil Alexander-Walker with 2:03 remaining in the third quarter.
The Clippers’ short-handed status allowed Cam Christie and Trentyn Flowers to make their NBA debuts. Christie scored his first basket on a fastbreak dunk late in the third quarter and finished with five points, while Flowers finished with nine points, all in the fourth quarter.
–Field Level Media
