LaMelo Ball scored 24 points and dished seven assists as the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 127-101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday in Minneapolis.
Jaden McDaniels finished with 23 points, six rebounds and seven assists for Minnesota, which snapped a two-game skid. Bones Hyland added 19 points off the bench.
Darius Garland scored 24 points on 10-for-22 shooting to lead Los Angeles, which took its fourth loss in a row. Brook Lopez scored 13 points off the bench, and Rui Hachimura and reserve Keaton Wagler finished with 12 points apiece.
The Timberwolves dominated the paint, where they outscored the Clippers 62-42. They led by as many as 29 points and never trailed by more than three.
It was the first victory for Minnesota since the team lost star guard Anthony Edwards to a knee injury for the next two months. Ayo Dosunmu made his second straight start in Edwards’ place and finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
The Timberwolves jumped out to an early double-digit lead.
A 21-7 run put Minnesota on top by 11 points with less than a minute remaining in the first period. McDaniels made a driving layup to start the run, which included back-to-back 3-pointers by Trey Lyles and Hyland.
By halftime, the Timberwolves had increased their lead to 13 points. McDaniels missed a shot from 12 feet in the final minute of the first half, but Rudy Gobert got the rebound and made a putback layup to put Minnesota on top 69-56 with 24.6 seconds to go.
The Clippers fell further behind after the break. Derrick Jones Jr. made a floater to cut the deficit to nine points with 7:46 left in the third quarter, but the Timberwolves responded with a 17-9 run to pull ahead 94-77 with 1:46 remaining in the session.
Dosunmu drained a 3-pointer to push Minnesota past the 100-point mark with 8:18 remaining in the fourth quarter. The hoop started a 23-2 run that gave the Timberwolves a 29-point advantage.
