Wolves get out of losing funk with 111-97 win over Clippers

By PHIL MILLER, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday January 30, 2010 12:17AM

MINNEAPOLIS (NBA.com exclusive) -- The Los Angeles Clippers were so aggravated by an embarrassing loss to the NBA's worst team on Wednesday, they held a players-only meeting on Friday.

Then they went out and lost to the second-worst team. So much for meetings.

"It's not what we wanted," Clippers center Marcus Camby said after the Minnesota

The Timberwolves, who had lost their last three games by a combined 74 points, snapped a five-game losing streak with a 111-97 victory. "We needed to put Wednesday's loss (a 103-87 loss at the hands of four-win New Jersey) behind us and come out the right way."

Maybe somebody wasn't paying attention in the Clippers' meeting, because Los Angeles, which has lost 11 of its last 12 road games, allowed Minnesota to score the game's first nine points, romp to a 19-5 lead in the first seven minutes, and eventually open a 23-point margin -- the Wolves' largest of the season.

"We didn't come out with the right mindset and the right focus," Camby said. "Especially after the disappointing loss the other night in New Jersey, we didn't respond the right way."

That's as opposed to the 10-38 Timberwolves, who were rejuvenated by a return to Target Center -- and by a new starting lineup. With 7-footer Ryan Hollins promoted to the first team, the Wolves were able to enjoy a rare size advantage over an opponent, and they took advantage of every chance they got. Hollins scored 19 points -- equaling the total number he had collected in the six games since he returned from a debilitating respiratory infection -- and provided an unexpected energy boost.

"We've been having trouble at the beginning of games, so coach (Kurt Rambis) had been stressing to us to come out playing hard," Hollins said. "I tried to play harder than they did and push the tempo, and it rubbed off on my teammates."

Apparently so. The Wolves -- who fell behind 15-0 in New York just three nights earlier -- finished the first quarter with a 34-20 lead, their best opening period of the season, and the lead was 19 points at halftime.

"Hollins played exceptionally well," Camby said of the Wolves' big man, who lost 16 pounds during his weeklong battle with his illness and is just now regaining his strength. "That was a surprise for us."

The Clippers were playing without center Chris Kaman, hobbled by a sprained ankle, and were overmatched inside. So Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy gambled in the second half on a small lineup, with 6-foot-8 Al Thornton at power forward, guarding Hollins.

It worked wonderfully -- for awhile. "We were able to spread the floor like that, get the defense away from the basket, and it opened things up for Baron," Dunleavy said. It opened things up so well, in fact, that Davis, held to just three points in the first half, scorched the Wolves for 23 points in the third quarter alone.

"He was remarkable," Camby said of the Clippers' point guard. "He was carrying us on his back, and he gave the rest of us great energy."

Davis made 8 of 11 shots in the period, including a pair of 3-pointers, and made 5 of 6 free throws, too. With that offensive lift, the Clippers kept the pressure on Minnesota, which had lost all three previous games to L.A. this season, eventually cutting the lead to 97-92 with just under five minutes to play.

"It got a little too close," Hollins said. "But we held it together."

Mostly, Al Jefferson did. After Ryan Gomes nailed a 12-footer, Jefferson got the ball down low on three of the Wolves' next four possessions; converting them into a layup and four free throws (he made three). Jefferson, limited to just two points in the first half, finished with 14 points to go with his 16 rebounds.

"We were double-teaming him on the catch, trying to take him out of it," Dunleavy said. "But the second half, when we went even smaller, he caught some passes deep in the post. He's too big a load when he gets it down there."

And Corey Brewer is too big a load when he's shooting this way. Brewer went 3-for-8 from the 3-point line, the fifth time in six games he's made multiple 3-pointers, and finished with 20 points.

Davis had 28 points and Eric Gordon 17 for the Clippers, who are 1-4 on their mammoth eight-game road trip -- and still have stops in Cleveland, Atlanta and Chicago ahead. That's why losing back-to-back games to teams with a combined .133 winning percentage coming in hurts so much.

"The New Jersey game was a terrible loss for us," Dunleavy said. "Tonight, without Kaman, we knew we were at risk."

And the meeting didn't help.

"We talked about salvaging the rest of the season. We still can," Camby said, though the 20-26 Clippers are in 12th place in the Western Conference, six games out of a playoff spot. "This thing's not over for us. But we have some tough games ahead."

• Clippers: Griffin, Kaman, Telfair
• Timberwolves: Blount, Jawai, Tucker

• Clippers: --
• Timberwolves: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #41 Ken Mauer, #65 Sean Wright, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 13398
• Duration: 2:21