The Los Angeles Clippers‘ nine-game winning streak at the Intuit Dome came to a crashing halt in a 108-80 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at home. The Timberwolves have restricted both LA teams to exactly 80 points respectively in back-to-back wins.
The Timberwolves were led by Julius Randle‘s 20 points (6-12 FG), with Anthony Edwards contributing an inefficient 16 points (5-14 FG) with four steals. Rudy Gobert stuffed the stat sheet with eight points (3-4 FG), nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals, and one block. Four other Timberwolves also scored in double-digits to ensure they pulled this win off behind another dominant defensive display.
The best non-garbage time Clipper was Derrick Jones Jr. with 14 points (5-12 FG), with Amir Coffey scoring 12 points (5-9 FG). Bones Hyland went off in garbage time and ended the night as the Clippers’ leading scorer with 18 points (5-11 FG) while James Harden had a stinker with five points (1-10 FG) and four turnovers.
Let’s analyze how the Timberwolves managed to dominate the Clippers in this win.
Defense Dominates
The Timberwolves had the best defense in the NBA last season. While they haven’t been as proficient defensively this season as new players adjust to their rotation, they’re finding a rhythm now. The score was 86-50 in Minnesota’s at the end of the third quarter, with the franchise shooting 19-61 (31.1 FG%) from the field and 8-32 (25.0 3P%) from three, while only getting to the line five times in that stretch for four points.
They had 15 steals and five blocks as a team tonight, showing that the overall team defense has leveled up with everyone contributing at a high level on that end. The Clippers’ perimeter players had almost no room to make easy inroads to the paint or take free jumpers on the perimeter. With the active hands of all Wolves defenders, there wasn’t a moment the Clippers offense wasn’t locked in a straightjacket.
Multiple Clippers’ Missing
The Clippers came into this game potentially expecting a loss, but not one of this magnitude. The franchise was extremely short-handed heading into this matchup, with four key rotational players not suiting up on the second night of this back-to-back.
Leading scorer Norman Powell was ruled out for hamstring injury management, while bench swingman Terance Mann was ruled out for the foreseeable future after undergoing surgery to repair his fractured left middle finger. Kevin Porter Jr. was ruled out with an ankle injury he suffered in a recent game, while Kawhi Leonard‘s status remains a mystery as he’s yet to make his season debut due to knee injuries.
Porter Jr. is capable of providing an offensive spark, but Bones Hyland (18 PTS) managed to pick up the slack, although it was too late.
This game was lost on the injury sheet before it even tipped off, but the degree of the beatdown shows how badly the Clippers need their health issues to be sorted as it could potentially ruin another season, especially if James Harden refuses to miss games.
James Harden Can’t Carry The Clippers Offensively
The Clippers have been getting good production from James Harden, with the former MVP averaging 22.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 8.8 assists so far this season. His presence elevates the Clippers’ offense on most nights, but he hasn’t been efficient this season. He’s averaging 38.6% from the field and 34.4% from three this season, to go along with his 4.4 turnovers per game. Nonetheless, his playmaking and ability to get to the free-throw line make him a consistent threat.
Tonight, Harden was ice-cold and went 1-10 from the field, with the only make coming on a three-point attempt. He didn’t even get to the line much, shooting just a pair of free throws on the night and making both. He had four turnovers to go along with his five points and three assists, racking up arguably the worst offensive night we’ve seen Harden have in his career.
It came at a bad time, as the Clippers needed him to shine to have any hope of winning this one.
A short-handed Clippers can’t hope for Harden to lead them offensively like he was once known to do for the Houston Rockets. He’s still a danger every night, but his consistency and ability to score just aren’t the same anymore. Norman Powell is the No. 1 scoring option, and Harden struggled without having him to play off.
The Timberwolves On Their Way Up
The Timberwolves’ season looked in danger as they were recently hovering below .500 and were placed 12th in the Western Conference. They’re not out of muddy waters yet as they’re tied for No. 10 in the West with an 11-10 record, the same as the San Antonio Spurs. But this win coupled with the two that precede it shows that the Wolves are getting a grip on their roster after major changes this summer.
Julius Randle (20 PTS) is finding his feet on the franchise and scored 18 points in the first half of this game to blow the Clippers out of the water. With Gobert (8 PTS, 9 REB, 7 AST, 5 STL) holding his level defensively and Anthony Edwards (16 PTS, 4 STL) being the ideal No. 1 option, the team has a lot of reasons to be optimistic.
If Donte DiVincenzo (3 PTS, 2 STL), Naz Reid (4 PTS, 2 BLK), or Mike Conley (11 PTS) can turn their form around, the team would be favorites to shoot up the tightly packed middle of the West.
With three straight wins over teams ahead of them in the West (Clippers 2x, Lakers), the confidence within the group has to be high after a few tough games in the middle. Edwards is proving himself as a leader, Randle is fixing his poor adjustment to the team, and Gobert’s defense ramping up has made the team better as a whole.
The coming weeks will be a major litmus test for the franchise, as they face the Golden State Warriors thrice, the Lakers, the Spurs, and the New York Knicks.
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