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Banged Up Clippers Edge Out 3rd Straight Win, 110-105

Rowan Kavner

MINNEAPOLIS – The Clippers beat the Grizzlies and Bulls before seeing the 13-win Timberwolves, but it was that victory in Minnesota on Monday night that head coach Doc Rivers felt was the toughest of the three.

There were multiple reasons for that, as the Clippers started without Matt Barnes (hamstring), lost Jamal Crawford after the first half to a calf contusion and had J.J. Redick tossed in the final two minutes of a wild finish before pulling out a 110-105 victory for their third straight win.

“This was the hardest of the three, considering the injuries, the back-to-back, the last game of a road trip, a team that’s playing great with a lot of energy,” Rivers said. “Very concerned all day about this game, and it ended up rightly so, but we won.”

Both teams were shorthanded, as the Timberwolves were also playing without Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin. But the theatrics and drama were entirely present in a game that stayed within six points the entire fourth quarter.

Spencer Hawes started 1-of-6 from 3-point range but he didn’t think twice or double-clutch in the corner with the Clippers leading, 102-101, with 1:31 remaining, drilling his second 3-pointer of the night to give the Clippers some breathing room.

“You can’t lose faith in your work,” Rivers said. “I was really happy that he didn’t hesitate at all on that shot.”

The Clippers went ahead by five points on a free throw from DeAndre Jordan before Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders got a technical and Redick was tossed in an intense sequence which occurred just a couple minutes after a double-technical with Kevin Garnett and Austin Rivers.

Redick said he was telling the referee to get Saunders, who was on the court, back off of it. Saunders then yelled at Redick, and the referees issued a double tech. When Redick said he’d get his money back for that call, he was ejected.

That meant no Redick, Crawford or Barnes for the final minute of a game that was far from over at that point.

“That’s big,” Crawford said. “Not having Blake, not having Matt, me leaving the game after halftime, J.J. leaving the game last couple minutes, we figured out a way. I think it’s a credit to the guys, Doc and the staff. We just grinded it out.”

The Timberwolves hit two free-throws on the other end, but Chris Paul, who finished with 26 points and 14 assists, drilled the dagger on a jumper to give the Clippers a 108-103 lead with 38 seconds left that was too much to overcome for the Timberwolves. Monday night marked Paul’s league-leading 14th game with at least 20 points and 10 assists.

“This was a grind-out game,” Paul said. “We had a big lead early in the first, they came back. It was neck-and-neck all game, but we finally got the stops we needed to in the fourth.”

It was a back-and-forth game from the middle of the second quarter through the finish. The Clippers led by 13 points after one quarter, but the Timberwolves began the second quarter on a 24-8 run.

The backup group struggled in the second but thrived early in the fourth. Glen Davis and Austin Rivers finished the game with a combined 25 points. Jordan Hamilton started for Barnes and finished with 10 points.

“We had guys step up and make some big plays. Jordan for playing his first extended minutes on the team, thought he did a great job tonight.”

NOTES: Jordan made it nine straight games with at least 15 rebounds, finishing with 18 boards and 12 points…The Clippers went 3-1 on the four-game road trip without Griffin, beating the Grizzlies, Bulls and Timberwolves…Barnes said he wants to play Wednesday but he’ll get reevaluated and will be cautious with the injury so it doesn’t linger … He said if this were the playoffs, he would’ve tried to go … Hamilton said he found out the night prior it was possible he could start, and he watched film to prepare himself … Davis’ 12 points were a season-high …