The Minnesota Timberwolves will hit the road, where they’ve recently struggled, to face the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night in Inglewood, California.
Last week, the Timberwolves were on a four-game losing streak and had lost seven of their last nine games overall when star Anthony Edwards criticized the team for playing selfishly. Of those seven defeats, four were on the road.
After Edwards voiced his concerns, the Timberwolves showed resilience with a 93-92 victory over the visiting Clippers on Friday and a 109-80 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
Despite an off night for Edwards, who scored eight points on 3-of-13 shooting against the Lakers, Julius Randle stepped up with 18 points, while Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 12 rebounds. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid each contributed 15 points off the bench.
The Timberwolves will need similar toughness to secure a second victory against the Clippers’ staunch defense within six days.
The Clippers enter the game following a 127-105 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, extending their home winning streak to nine games.
Norman Powell scored 30 points in his second game back from a hamstring injury, while James Harden added 23 points and seven assists for Los Angeles, which shot 51.4 percent (19 of 37) from beyond the arc.
With Paul George now playing for the Philadelphia 76ers and Kawhi Leonard dealing with a knee injury, Powell has stepped into a leading scorer role, averaging a team-best 23.9 points per game. Even a six-game injury absence didn’t slow him down.
After losing their first four games in their new arena, including one to Portland, the Clippers avenged that setback on Tuesday by focusing more on offense than defense.
The Clippers played their second consecutive game on Tuesday without Kevin Porter Jr. (ankle), and Terance Mann left in the third quarter with a fractured middle finger on his left hand.
