The Los Angeles Clippers found themselves in a close game at home Sunday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves…actually, trailing by four with less than a minute left in regulation. The Minnesota bigs dominated all game, but it was the Clippers’ guards who made plays down the stretch to seal the deal. The Clippers were able to squeeze their way to victory by a final score of 120-116 in OT. Blake Griffin played an overall great game, finishing with 32pts, 10reb, and 4ast. Griffin would later foul out early in the overtime period. Chris Paul struggled all game (6-19 FG) except in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime period. Paul came up with a huge steal at the end of regulation from the hands of Kevin Martin in the backcourt that led to a game-tying Jamal Crawford dunk. Paul finished with 19pts, 6reb, and 13ast, and went 7-8 from the line including several clutch free throws to close out the game. Crawford added 22pts for the Clippers, and Dudley tallied 15pts including a huge three pointer to send the Clippers up one late in the fourth quarter, and eventually into the overtime period. Nobody had a bigger night than Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kevin Love. Love was a steady source of offense and rebounding, as usual, all night for the Wolves. He finished with 45pts, 19reb, and 6ast, while fellow big man Nikola Pekovic ended with a career-high 34pts and 14reb. The Wolves big men dominated all game, but could not finish it off, especially Pekovic who missed several point-blank layups during the final minutes of the fourth and overtime periods. Love and Pekovic kept the Wolves close all game, but didn’t have enough gas to finish the game off. The Clippers’ miraculous win was just in time for the holidays. They will square off against the Golden State Warriors on a Christmas Day matchup in the Bay Area.
Clippers Outshine Love’s BIG Night in OT
