IN WIN, THEY GO TO TOWNS
Timberwolves ride star big man, who scores 37 points in victory over Clippers.
The thumb injury that will sideline star point guard Chris Paul for six to eight weeks was a punch in the gut to the Clippers on Tuesday. Their 104-101 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night at Staples Center, ending their sevengame winning streak, was a kick in the teeth, almost literally.
Minnesota center KarlAnthony Towns, a former Kentucky star who was the first pick in the 2015 draft, scored 37 points, 27 in the second half, including a fallaway 18-foot jumper over the outstretched arm of DeAndre Jordan to give the Timberwolves a 102-101 lead with 44.9 seconds to play.
Towns, who made 17 of 24 shots, also punctuated a 17-8 run to end the third quarter with an authoritative follow slam after which he nearly kicked Clippers forward Marreese Speights in the face while hanging on the rim.
Andrew Wiggins added 27 points for Minnesota to help offset a monster night by Jordan, who scored a career-high 29 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and made four of eight three throws when the Timberwolves intentionally fouled him four times in the final four minutes. Austin Rivers added 20 points.
“He was unbelievable,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said of Towns. “He made a ton of shots all over the floor. We probably should have done something else to give D.J. some help. We didn’t, we thought we could guard him, and he made us pay.”
Struggling guard Jamal Crawford, who made only two of his first 12 shots, had given the Clippers a 101-98 lead with 1:28 left when he made a running one-hand shot from the lane as the shot clock expired.
But Towns made a jump hook from the right baseline to make the score 101-100 with 1:12 left, and after Crawford missed with one minute left, Towns hit his dagger over Jordan.
J.J. Redick’s three-point attempt rimmed out with 32 seconds left.
Towns missed a three on the other end, but Wiggins grabbed the long rebound, was fouled and made both free throws for a 104-101 lead with 5.5 seconds left. Raymond Felton and Redick both missed long desperation shots before the final buzzer.
“We had a bunch of isolations with our best defender on him,” Rivers said of Towns. “Tonight, he got the better of the shots. In the fourth quarter, he was making everything: step-back jumpers, threes, jump hooks … he showed us everything he has tonight.”
The Clippers didn’t lose only Paul’s 17.5 points, 9.7 assists and 2.25 steals a game; they lost the intangibles that come with an 11year veteran who is one of the NBA’s top f loor generals and the fiery disposition that has made Paul a six-time all-defensive first-team selection.
The Clippers are 79-35 with Paul over the last two seasons, including the playoffs. They are 5-13 without the eight-time All-Star, five of the losses coming during the team’s recent six-game losing streak.
“It doesn’t help us having one of our leaders out, especially Chris, who is one of the great playmakers, great defenders and scorers on this team,” Jordan said. “Chris creates a lot of shot opportunities for guys, and he’s such a threat offensively that he draws a lot of attention.”
Paul’s injury leaves the Clippers with four guards: Redick, Rivers, Felton and Crawford, three of whom are starters.
Rivers had already assumed a more prominent role when Blake Griffin was sidelined after knee surgery on Dec. 20; Rivers was averaging a career-high 26.3 minutes a game through Monday.
Doc Rivers’ biggest challenge might be rationing playing time to keep his backcourt players fresh, which might be more of an issue for Crawford, 36, Felton, 32, and Redick, 32, than for Austin Rivers, 24.