The Clippers losing streak reached four games on Friday night at Target Center. LaMelo Ball scored a season-high 24 points, Jaden McDaniels added 23, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Clippers 127-101 in the NBA Cup group opener for both teams. It was Minnesota’s first win without Anthony Edwards, who is out after arthroscopic knee surgery. The Clippers fall to 1-4 and the Timberwolves improve to 4-2.
How the game got away
The Clippers’ largest lead was three points, and they led for only 9% of the game. Minnesota led 34-24 after the first quarter and 69-56 at halftime, and outscored Los Angeles in all four quarters. The Timberwolves were up 98-81 going into the fourth.
The Clippers did make a push. Kobe Sanders hit a pull-up, Keaton Wagler made two free throws, Gradey Dick hit a three, and Darius Garland scored a layup off a Kris Dunn pass with 8:30 left. That cut the lead to 98-90. Minnesota answered right away. Ayo Dosunmu hit a three off a LaMelo Ball pass, and Ball took over from there.
- From 8:30 to 3:48 of the fourth, Minnesota outscored the Clippers 20-2. The only Clippers basket was a Derrick Jones Jr. dunk.
- Ball hit three long 3-pointers in 1:48, from 26, 28 and 28 feet. He also assisted on baskets by Dosunmu and McDaniels during the run.
- Minnesota’s lead reached 29, at 121-92, on a Joan Beringer layup with 2:54 left.
LaMelo Ball and Jaden McDaniels
Ball finished with 24 points on 9-for-20 shooting, 6-for-15 from three, along with seven assists and four rebounds. The AP described him as Minnesota’s “new star” with Edwards out. McDaniels was even more efficient: 23 points on 11-for-15 shooting, plus seven assists, six rebounds and a +22.
The supporting cast was just as good. Bones Hyland scored 19 with eight assists off the bench, Dosunmu had 15, Terrence Shannon Jr. had 11, Trey Lyles had 10, and Rudy Gobert had nine points and 13 rebounds. Minnesota shot 51-for-95 (54%), made 18 threes and had 32 assists on 51 baskets.
According to the AP, every one of Minnesota’s four wins has been by more than 20 points.
Darius Garland’s 24 and the Jaylen Clark matchup
Darius Garland led the Clippers with 24 points on 10-for-22 shooting, 4-for-8 from three, with five assists. He also had five turnovers and finished -19. RotoWire noted it was his third 20-point game in five appearances and his fourth straight game with at least five assists.
The AP pointed to the job Jaylen Clark did on him. The backup guard took over some of McDaniels’ defensive work on Garland, and the AP said he helped force Garland’s five turnovers. Clark had five points, two steals and a +23 in 17 minutes, the best plus-minus on the floor. Garland also didn’t attempt a free throw in 31 minutes, so all of his scoring came from field goals against a defense that kept changing who guarded him.
The rest of the Clippers box score
- Brook Lopez: 13 points and six rebounds off the bench in 21 minutes.
- Rui Hachimura: He had been listed questionable but returned to the starting lineup after missing one game with a quadriceps injury. He scored 12 points on 4-for-11 shooting in 26 minutes.
- Keaton Wagler: The rookie scored 12 points but went 2-for-11 from the field, making seven of eight free throws. His -24 was the worst on the team.
- Isaiah Jackson: The starting center had one of the better all-around lines on the team: 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals in 22 minutes. He made all four of his free throws.
- Derrick Jones Jr.: 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting in 26 minutes.
- Kris Dunn: five points and seven assists. Kobe Sanders scored seven, and Blake Wesley went 0-for-4.
Where the Clippers lost it
- Turnovers: The Clippers had 18 turnovers, and Minnesota scored 28 points off them. The Clippers scored 16 points off Minnesota’s 12 turnovers.
- Paint: Minnesota outscored the Clippers 62-42 in the paint.
- Transition: Minnesota had 18 fast-break points to the Clippers’ nine.
- Shooting: The Clippers shot well from three (12-for-30, 40%) and at the line (19-for-22), but only 35-for-85 (41%) overall. Minnesota took 10 more shots and made 16 more baskets.
The four-game slide
The Clippers beat the Sacramento Kings 121-96 on opening night. Since then they have lost four straight: 125-117 to the Lakers, 108-101 at Oklahoma City, 103-87 at home to the Lakers on Wednesday, and now 127-101 in Minneapolis. They are still missing several players. ESPN’s injury report lists Brandon Ingram, Max Strus, Bradley Beal, Yanic Konan Niederhauser and Jordan Miller as out. Jalen Pickett did not play (coach’s decision).
We did not find any postgame quotes from coach Tyronn Lue in the recaps published so far, so this article doesn’t include any.
The good news for the Clippers is that some of their younger players are getting real minutes. Wagler, Sanders and Jackson all played at least 22 minutes on Friday. The bad news is that the Clippers have been outscored by 57 points over the four-game losing streak (8, 7, 16 and 26), and the roster they expected to have hasn’t played together yet.
NBA Cup and what’s next
- Group standings: The Clippers start 0-1 in West Group B, which also has Minnesota, Oklahoma City, New Orleans and Memphis. Only the group winner and one wild card per conference advance to the quarterfinals on Dec. 4-5.
- Next game: The Clippers play at the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 5:30 p.m. PT. Golden State is coming off Friday’s 112-95 comeback win over the Lakers.
- After that: The Clippers host the Toronto Raptors on Monday, Nov. 2, and the Miami Heat on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
- Minnesota: The Timberwolves play at the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
Notes and conflicts
- Ingram’s injury: The AP recap says Ingram and Strus have been out “due to foot injuries.” ESPN’s injury feed lists Ingram’s injury as Achilles. Earlier injury reports we cited described it as right heel surgery.
- Size of the run: The AP calls Minnesota’s fourth-quarter surge 20-2, which matches the play-by-play from 98-90 to 118-92. Counting through 2:54, it grew to 23-2.
- Lue quotes: As noted above, none were available at the time of writing.
For more Clippers coverage and NBA breakdowns, subscribe to Infanity TV on YouTube.
