T-WOLVES GET BEST OF REELING CLIPPERS
LOS ANGELES — Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the sliding Los Angeles Clippers 113-107 on Wednesday night.
Jimmy Butler and Jeff Teague each scored 19 points for the Timberwolves (15-11), who placed six players in double figures. Andrew Wiggins and Taj Gibson had 16 apiece, and Jamal Crawford finished with 11 points.
Los Angeles dropped its fourth straight game despite an impressive performance by DeAndre Jordan, who had 18 points and 21 rebounds. Lou Williams and Austin Rivers each scored 23 points for the Clippers (8-15).
Danilo Gallinari returned for Los Angeles and scored seven points on 2-for-13 shooting. Gallinari had been sidelined since Nov. 5 due to a glute injury.
The Timberwolves shot 54.9 percent from the floor.
Minnesota led by as many as 19 in the third quarter. The Clippers pulled within four in the fourth quarter, but the Timberwolves held on.
• Pelicans 123, Nuggets 114 — At New Orleans: DeMarcus Cousins had 40 points, 22 rebounds and four blocks, and the Pelicans won for the second time in three games without Anthony Davis.
Jrue Holiday scored 27 points for New Orleans, which shot 53.5 percent (46 of 86).
Davis missed his third straight game with a strained left adductor. His status for New Orleans’ next game remains unclear. • Celtics 97, Mavericks 90 — At Boston: Kyrie Irving scored 23 points and Jayson Tatum had 17 points and 10 rebounds, helping the short-handed Celtics to their fourth straight victory.
Boston’s Al Horford added 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
The Celtics played without Jaylen Brown and Marcus Morris. Brown sat with an inflamed right eye, while Morris was out due to left knee soreness.
• Knicks 99, Grizzlies 88 — At New York: Courtney Lee scored 24 points and Kristaps Porzingis had 18 after a slow start in his return to the lineup, helping the Knicks to the win.
Moving from forward back to shooting guard in Tim Hardaway Jr.’s absence, Lee fell just shy of his season high and was the catalyst in a big run to open the second half that largely determined the game.
Porzingis came back from his sprained right ankle and illness, but the Knicks announced Tuesday that Hardaway had a stress injury in his lower left leg and had begun a treatment and rehabilitation plan. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
• Bucks 104, Pistons 100 — At Milwaukee: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and nine rebounds, and Milwaukee won for the fourth time in five games.
Khris Middleton had 21 points for the Bucks, including four free throws in the final 20 seconds.
The Bucks opened the fourth with a 14-1 run to lead 90-77 after Malcolm Brogdon’s jumper with 6:42 left.
• Spurs 117, Heat 105 — At San Antonio: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18 points, leading San Antonio to its sixth win in seven games.
The Spurs shot 52.9 percent from the field and had seven players score in double figures. Bryn Forbes had 17 points, and Rudy Gay finished with 16 in San Antonio’s eighth straight win over Miami.
With Kawhi Leonard’s return looming from a season-long absence due to a quadriceps injury, Aldridge led the Spurs in scoring for the 20th time in 25 games.
• Pacers 98, Bulls 96 — At Indianapolis: Victor Oladipo scored 27 points, including a clutch 3-pointer with 31.1 seconds left that lifted the Pacers to the comeback victory.
Bojan Bogdanovic had 17 points for Indiana (14-11), and Darren Collison finished with 14. Myles Turner had 11 points and blocked four shots, and Thaddeus Young finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
The lowly Bulls led by as many as 17, but couldn’t hold off the Pacers in the final moments. Oladipo’s 3 gave Indiana its first lead at 97-96, and he tacked on a free throw with 12.8 seconds left.
• Magic 110, Hawks 106, OT — At Orlando, Fla.: Evan Fournier scored 27 points before departing with a right ankle injury, and the Magic rallied for the overtime win.
Aaron Gordon had 24 points and 15 rebounds for Orlando, and Nikola Vucevic added 22 points and 16 rebounds.