Playing on the road against a quality Timberwolves squad, even one missing its best player, wasn’t going to leave the Clippers much wiggle room. It takes a top performance, one that Doc Rivers’ team just couldn’t muster.
The Clippers fell behind in the third quarter of what might have been their last best chance to climb back into the playoff picture and never really threatened again, falling 123-109 in Minnesota.
That third quarter was a crusher. Trailing by one meager point after a loose but wide-open first half, the Clippers missed their first nine field goal attempts, finally finding the bottom of the basket after a torturous five minutes and a 13-0 Wolves run.