Paul's Big 4th Lifts Clippers Past Wolves, 102-98
When Chris Paul gets it going, he’s hard to stop.
The Wolves learned that the hard way as the All-Star scored 16 points in the final quarter, willing the Clippers to a 102-98 win over Minnesota at the Target Center on Wednesday night.
Wolves vs. Clippers
“Tough loss,” Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. “(Chris) Paul really took over in the fourth quarter and made a lot of big plays… He kept the ball, kept attacking. It was hard to control him. They put pick after pick on him.”
The fact that it was close after the first 3:29 was a surprise in itself. The Clippers jumped to a 12-0 early lead behind 10 points from J.J. Redick, but the first half was an odd one, that’s for sure. Minnesota followed with a 12-4 run of its own.
The Wolves went on a 24-12 run to tie the game at 24 at the end of the first. Kevin Love finished with seven points, while Ricky Rubio added five. Redick was 4-of-7 in the quarter. Aside from him, though, the LA starters were a combined 4-of-11.
The reserves came in for the Wolves to start the second quarter and it wasn’t pretty early. The Clippers went on an 11-0 run led by a group of Jamal Crawford, Reggie Bullock, Ryan Hollins, Darren Collison and Jared Dudley. And in a game of runs, that same unit for Minnesota answered with a 12-0 run to take a 36-35 lead. The Wolves would ultimately take a 46-39 lead with 1:55 left, the team’s biggest lead of the night. Of course, L.A. went on a 7-0 run to close the half, tying the game.
The third quarter ended up being the difference if you just simply look at the box score. The Clippers outscored the Wolves 25-21 in the third, but it was the fourth quarter that really buried Minnesota.
From 5:07 on, it was the CP3 show. Paul scored 16 points in a span of 4 minutes and 44 seconds, including 12 consecutive points. The Wolves got within two once and three points three times, but it was Paul who responded and did what he had to do to give his squad its eighth win of the season and second win over the Wolves in 10 days.
“That’s who he is,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s one of the best players in the league. He’s capable of doing that.”
Both Paul and Griffin finished with double-doubles. Paul had 20 points to go along with 11 assists, six rebounds and four steals. Griffin had 20 points. New additions Redick and Jared Dudley combined for 26 points, while Jamal Crawford finished with 16 points off the bench. In his last game against Minnesota, Crawford finished with 18 points.
Kevin Martin led all scorers with 28 points to go with 10 rebounds. Nikola Pekovic added 20 points, while shooting an efficient 9-of-13 from the field. Corey Brewer scored 17 points. Love, despite shooting 2-of-14 from the field, managed to finish with a double-double, scoring 10 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
Minnesota shot just 37.8 percent from the field, while LA shot 49.4 percent. The Wolves were only able to make five 3-pointers, three coming from Martin.
The Wolves have now lost two straight games and for the first time this season, find themselves on the outside looking in at the playoff hunt. It won’t get any easier for Minnesota as has a back-to-back starting on Friday with Brooklyn and Houston, respectively.
Quote of the Night
Postgame Podcast
with John Focke
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“It’s always a reason when you have a back-to-back. Especially coming home and playing one of the better teams in the Western Conference. They are just waiting for you, watching our game at some sports bar somewhere. But what are you going to do? It’s how the league works. These guys played us tonight and they go to Oklahoma City tomorrow. It’s not something unique. I think the tough part is the back-to-backs and getting in late is playing on the road, playing at home then going on the road. We do that a lot and that gets weary after a while. It’s nothing we can use as an excuse. You have to play through it.” — Wolves head coach Rick Adelman on the Wolves playing on Tuesday night in Washington before playing at home on Wednesday.
Looking Ahead
The Wolves will stay at home for Friday night’s game as they host Kevin Garnett and the Brooklyn Nets at 7 p.m. There won’t be a lot of rest as Minnesota will head to Houston to play Dwight Howard and the Rockets. That game will also be at 7. Both games will be on Fox Sports North and WCCO 830-AM.