National Basketball Association
Minnesota 95, L.A. Clippers 94
When: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, March 5, 2012
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials:
#56 Mark Ayotte, #41 Ken Mauer, #72 J.T. Orr
Attendance:
19509
By SportsDirect Inc.
TIMBERWOLVES 95, CLIPPERS 94: Kevin Love scored 39 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as host Minnesota stayed perfect against Los Angeles this season.
Love registered his league-leading 33rd double-double and came up a point shy of his second straight 40-point game as the Timberwolves beat the Clippers for the third straight time.
Rookie Derrick Williams had 15 points and nine rebounds and Darko Milicic added 13 points to lift Minnesota (20-19) above the .500 mark.
Blake Griffin had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead Los Angeles, which was playing for the fourth time in five nights. He also missed four free throws and committed a technical foul in the final four minutes.
Mo Williams scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and Chris Paul added 18 for the Clippers, who dropped one-half game behind the Los Angeles Lakers atop the Pacific Division.
Love sparked an 18-8 run to close the third quarter as the Timberwolves pulled away from a 57-57 time to take a 75-65 lead into the fourth.
Los Angeles could not get any closer than three points until Paul hit a pair of foul shots with two seconds to play.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Love had a personal 11-0 first-quarter run in a span of under 2 1/2 minutes. That's one more point than he scored in the last matchup against the Clippers. ... Minnesota center Nikola Pekovic sat out the game with a sore foot, so Milicic made his first start - and only sixth appearance - in 16 games for Minnesota. ... Griffin registered his 23rd double-double of the season. He had scored 14, 17 and 14 points in his previous three games, marking the first time this season he has failed to score 20 points at least once in a three-game span.
Top Game Performances
| L.A. Clippers |
|
Minnesota |
|
Blake Griffin 26 |
Scoring |
Kevin Love 39 |
|
Chris Paul 5 |
Assists |
Ricky Rubio 6 |
|
Blake Griffin 12 |
Rebounds |
Kevin Love 17 |
|
Chris Paul 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Kevin Love 8 |
|
DeAndre Jordan 2 |
Steals |
Luke Ridnour 1 |
|
DeAndre Jordan 2 |
Blocks |
Michael Beasley 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| L.A. Clippers
|
94 |
40.5 |
5-23 |
21-32 |
15 |
52 |
3 |
6 |
8 |
| Minnesota
|
95 |
40.0 |
11-28 |
20-27 |
19 |
43 |
3 |
2 |
12 |
Upcoming Games
-
Minnesota will play their next game at home against Portland. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .526 after a loss.
-
L.A. Clippers will play their next game on the road against New Jersey. The Clippers have a W/L % of .478 after a win and .846 after a loss.
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