Game: Minnesota Timberwolves @ Los Angeles Clippers
Time: 10:00 p.m.
Odds: Timberwolves +6.5, Clippers -6.5
Total: 234
The Los Angeles Clippers host the Minnesota Timberwolves after a pretty hectic weekend they would like to forget. The Clippers pushed the top team in the Western Conference, Denver, to the very end on Sunday only to lose. That came after making NBA history on Friday night and experiencing a scare on a team aircraft on Saturday.
The drama started on Friday during Russell Westbrook’s debut, when the Clippers failed to hold onto a 14-point lead with 4:25 left in the game and fell to the Sacramento Kings, 176-175, in double overtime. The game ended up being the second-highest scoring game in NBA history.
Then, an even bigger scare came on Saturday morning as the team was flying to Denver. Lightning struck the plane while en route. The team made it safely and overcame an early 18-point deficit before losing in overtime again. The Clippers lost 134-124.
In those two games, the Clippers averaged 149.5, yet they dropped both games. Los Angeles is in need of some normalcy right now, but anything may happen as the team works to secure a solid playoff spot. LA is fifth in the West right now. They are just half a game behind fourth-place Phoenix and half a game ahead of sixth-place Dallas.
With 33 points from Kawhi Leonard, 23 from Paul George, and 17 from Russell Westbrook—who also added four assists and five steals in 25 minutes of his second game with the team—the Clippers proved they can compete with the Nuggets. Mason Plumlee started in place of center Ivica Zubac, who missed the previous two games due to a right calf strain and had 10 rebounds in 27 minutes.
The most recent loss for the Timberwolves was a 109-104 defeat at Golden State on Sunday. They are currently on a three-game losing streak. Anthony Edwards was held to 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting, while Naz Reid scored a career-high 30 points. Edwards leads Minnesota averaging 24.7 points per game. The Timberwolves were 3-of-13 from three-point range and hit just 10 of their 21 free-throw tries in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
Karl-Anthony Towns is still out for Minnesota due to a calf injury, and Rudy Gobert (13.4 points, 11.6 rebounds per game) missed the game on Sunday due to an illness. Towns remains out and hasn’t played since November. Gobert is listed as probable for tonight.
Minnesota is currently in the middle of a four-game trip to California before beginning an eight-game stretch against Eastern Conference opponents. That includes games against the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. The TWolves are 1-4 SU and ATS in their last five games and 4-10 SU in their last 14 against the Clippers.
Los Angeles is 2-4 SU in its last six games and 2-5 ATS in its last seven. In their last seven games at home against Minnesota, the Clippers are 6-1 ATS.
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