Down 20, Clippers rally to beat Wolves for second time in three days
FILE – Paul George #13 of the LA Clippers reacts after blocking a dunk attempt by Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves (not pictured) in the second quarter of the game at Target Center on November 3, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Clippers defeated the Timberwolves 126-115. David Berding/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by David Berding / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Paul George scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the visiting Los Angeles Clippers stormed back for a 104-84 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night in Minneapolis.
Reggie Jackson contributed 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting, and Ivica Zubac finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Terance Mann had 13 points for Los Angeles, which beat Minnesota by double digits for the second time in three days.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 20 points and eight rebounds. Malik Beasley scored 18 points off the bench and Anthony Edwards had 17 points despite shooting 7 of 22. Minnesota dropped its fourth game in a row.
The Clippers outscored the Timberwolves 57-27 in the second half.
Los Angeles opened the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run to pull ahead 86-72 with 9:24 remaining. George scored or assisted on every point during the run, registering six points and assisting on a dunk by Mann and a 3-pointer by Luke Kennard.
The Clippers’ lead increased to 96-76 with 6:04 left. That improved their run to 21-4 to start the fourth.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Clippers rallied for a 75-72 lead. Los Angeles posted a 28-15 edge during the third quarter, which included 11 points from Jackson during that span.
The Timberwolves raced to a 16-3 lead in the first 4:18 after tipoff. Towns capped the run by scoring eight straight points on a 3-pointer, back-to-back layups and a free throw.
The Clippers failed to cut the deficit to fewer than seven points for the rest of the first quarter. They ended the session trailing 33-23 despite a basket by Jackson with 4.2 seconds to play.
Minnesota increased its advantage to as many as 20 points in the second quarter. Beasley drilled a 3-pointer off an assist from Jordan McLaughlin to make it 49-29 with 6:25 remaining.
Los Angeles finished the first half on an 18-8 run to slice the deficit in half. Minnesota led 57-47 at the break.
Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell missed his second game in a row because of a sprained ankle.
