Rose and Towns combine as ‘Wolves edge Suns
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Derrick Rose nailed a three-pointer from 18 feet with just 0.6 seconds left, to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 116-114 victory over the Phoenix Suns yesterday.
“It was about damn time I hit a shot like that,” said Rose.
Rose and Karl-anthony Towns took turns carrying the ‘Wolves on their backs as they combined for 61 points.
Towns scored 28 of his 30 points in the first half and Rose scored 29 of his 31 points in the second half for the Timberwolves, who had to overcome an 11-point deficit.
The Suns decided to double -team Towns in the second half, which opened the door for Rose to then take charge.
“I got to get back into the rhythm of things. I believe in myself and I work on this all the time,” said Rose, who shot 11 of 18 in the second half.
TJ Warren scored 21 points and Devin Booker and Kelly Oubre each added 18 for Phoenix, who lost all four games on their road trip to drop to 4-20 overall on the road this season.
Elsewhere, Tobias Harris scored 27 points and flirted with a triple-double as the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a five-game losing skid with a 103-95 win over the red-hot San Antonio Spurs.
Harris also had nine assists and nine rebounds, and Patrick Beverly finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers in front of a crowd of 18,300 at the AT&T Center arena.
The Clippers led the contest for all but 14 seconds, as Beverley helped seal the victory with two late free throws.
San Antonio, who suffered their second-consecutive loss at home, took the lead, 101-95, with 31 seconds to go on Aldridge’s final basket of the game, but the Clippers were able to execute down the stretch.
“It was a great win,” said Harris. “Every single guy that got out here and played was effective.
“We knew tonight we were going to need everybody’s effort.”
Lamarcus Aldridge had 30 points and 14 rebounds, and a banged-up leading scorer Demar Derozan returned from a one-game absence to finish with eight points for a dismal four-of-16 shooting record.
Rudy Gay had 19 points and Marco Belinelli added 12 points for San Antonio.
The Spurs, who committed 18 turnovers, took their only lead with just over three minutes remaining in the first, when Bryn Forbes drained a three-pointer.
The Clippers went on a 22-2 run bridging the first and second quarters, turning a onepoint deficit into a 45-26 lead with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
Elsewhere, Victor Oladipo scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half and Darren Collison finished with 19 points as the Indiana Pacers posted their fourth win in five games with a 120-95 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
“Me, Bojan (Bogdanovic), Vic, we were all being aggressive on the pick-and-roll,” Collison said. “When all three of us are aggressive, it’s tough to beat us.”
Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 23 points but didn’t get much help. Malik Monk finished with 11 points off the bench, while Bismack Biyombo scored 10 as the Hornets’ three-game winning streak ended.