Anthony Edwards proved himself in his first postseason appearance, helping the Minnesota Timberwolves defeat the LA Clippers 109-104, earning them their place in the playoffs.
Minnesota Timberwolves (7) – L.A. Clippers (8) 109:104 (BOXSCORE)
The Wolves will face the Memphis Grizzlies as the 7th seed in the Western Conference in the first round of the playoffs. The Clippers can still qualify for the playoffs in the 8th place game against either the New Orleans Pelicans or the San Antonio Spurs.
Edwards scored 30 points on 10/21 from field and 5/11 from downtown while playing 2 assists. D’Angelo Russell came out on 29 points at 10/18 (3/5 threes) and prepared 6 goals. Karl-Anthony Towns, on the other hand, had a nightmare of an evening, which Clippers coach Tyronn Lue can also take credit for.
Several defensive moves by Lue were clearly evident, depending on the Wolves’ staff on the floor. For one, the Clippers lined up Ivica Zubac against Patrick Beverley multiple times early on and let Beverley throw as much of the line of three as he wanted. On the other hand, they consistently took away his drives with the right hand against Towns, which caused big problems for the center.
KAT got into the game in a bad way and didn’t score in the first half (0/7 FG, 2 turnovers), he got into foul problems early on and was already penalized four times at the break. His frustration was evident, and in the second half he had to wait a long time after his fifth foul, only to foul it out a few minutes after his next substitution.
Towns finished the game with 11 points (3/11 FG), 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 turnovers as well as his team’s worst over/under (-14) in 24 minutes. His replacement Naz Reid (8), on the other hand, had the Wolves’ best rating of +17.
Play-In: Wolves and Clippers with foul problems
On the other side, Paul George was the best player with 34 points (10/24 FG, 6/12 3P), 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Reggie Jackson contributed 17 points and 5 assists, but also managed 5 turnovers. Norman Powell (16) hit his first four throws (three threes) before cooling off a little (5/9 FG overall). Isaiah Hartenstein was only allowed to play for 7 minutes (0 points, 2 rebounds).
In the hard-fought game, the focus was always on the referees because of several questionable decisions, but also because the players constantly complained about the strict direction of the crew. A total of 54 fouls were called, and 9 players had at least 4 fouls by the end of the game.
It was clear to fans in Minnesota that the Timberwolves were just one win away from what was only the franchise’s second playoff series since 2005. Apparently, that also went down well with the players, who fired into the game to start the game 7-2. Afterwards, however, the Wolves seemed too restless in their game, which led to turnovers and bad throws. Minnesota hit only 3 of his next 15 shots from the field, plus Beverley (3 fouls) and Towns (2) in foul play. With a long buzzerbeater threesome, Jaden McDaniels made it 20:26 after 12 minutes.
Whenever the Clippers threatened to pull something away in the second quarter, Edwards seemed to hit a throw. At the end of the quarter he had to go on the bench with his 3rd foul as did Towns (4 fouls), but Russell had his best phase with 9 points in the last almost 100 seconds in the middle of a 15:3 run by Wolves. The Clippers didn’t hit a single shot from the twos in this section, 53:51 at the break for Minnesota.
Play-In: Wolves overrun Clippers after Towns miss out
Towns netted his first field shot five minutes into the third quarter, but didn’t celebrate for long. Frustrated by a previous foul call, he cleared Batum before running over Morris for a clear offensive foul, his fifth. With him on the bench, Lue fielded a five-wing lineup that was very successful late in the quarter, led by the hot-running George (84-78.)
The first minutes of the final quarter were marked by Terance Mann and his two spectacular blocks, each leading to simple points on the opposite side. With seven and a half minutes to go, Towns vaulted over the back of a defender for an offensive rebound that was probably out of reach anyway. For this little clever and clumsy use, he got his sixth foul.
This time, however, the Wolves reacted much better to the loss of their All-Star and continued a 16-2 run. Russell increased to +6 with almost two minutes to play with a difficult stepback, a little later the Wolves were in a 4-on-1 fast break. Edwards was completely free at the three-point line, but threw an airball. On the ensuing throw-in, he committed an offensive foul for a turnover, George slammed in a three-pointer and sent Wolves trembling down to +3.
Rather than risk another long-range shot, Edwards went to the basket after a miss on each side, where he was fouled by Zubac and recovered to +5 on the free-throw line. George missed the throw to connect, which decided the game. Patrick Beverley managed another steal, after the end of the game the former clipper jumped jubilantly in Dwyane Wade manner onto the scoring table and threw his jersey into the euphoric crowd, before he even burst into tears of joy.