After blowing 15-pt. advantage, Minnesota wins
By Robbi Pickeral
Knight Ridder Newspapers
LOS ANGELES -- If you're the glass-is-half-full type, your cup runneth over today. After all, the Timberwolves beat the Clippers, 101-98, on Saturday night at Staples Center in a down-to-the-wire game that was physical down the stretch.
If you're the glass-is-half-empty type, your cup probably shattered against the nearest wall sometime in the second quarter. That was when the Wolves lost a 15-point lead to make it a down-to-the-wire and physical game.
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If the Wolves have that much trouble with a non-playoff team, what's going to happen when they get to the postseason?
The Wolves earned a winning record on the road (21-20) and finished their California road trip 2-2 by surviving more than thriving.
Wolves forward Kevin Garnett, who picked up a technical foul roughly two minutes earlier for being too rough on a rebound, buried a 16-foot jump shot with 1:03 left to give the Wolves a 99-98 lead. He rebounded a Clippers miss on the next possession, then missed a baseline jumper with 26 seconds to play to give the Clippers another go. With 15.9 seconds, Billups had a near-steal roll out of- bounds, but after Earl Boykins missed a pullup jumper, Billups buried two free throws with 1.7 seconds left.
Garnett led all scorers with 35 points and 10 rebounds. Billups had 20 points and 10 assists.
Corey Maggette led the Clippers with 24 points.
MINNESOTA (101)
Smith 4-6 2-2 10, Garnett 13-18 9-9 35, Nesterovic 1-1 0-0 2, Billups 6-11 5-5 20, Szczerbiak 7-15 2-3 17, Trent 3-9 0-0 6, Pack 0-0 0-0 0, Woods 0-2 0-0 0, Peeler 2-7 2-2 6, Mitchell 0-0 1-2 1, Lopez 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 38-74 21-23 101.
L.A. CLIPPERS (98)
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Maggette 9-12 5-6 24, Brand 5-10 4-4 14, Olowokandi 5-7 3-8 13, McInnis 3-7 2-2 9, Piatkowski 0-3 0-0 0, Richardson 8-14 1-2 19, Miles 4-7 4-5 12, Boykins 3-7 1-1 7, Ekezie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-67 20-28 98.
Minnesota 29 19 31 22 -- 101
; L.A. Clippers 18 31 29 20 -- 98
; 3-Point Goals--Minnesota 4-7 (Billups 3-4, Szczerbiak 1-1, Peeler 0-2), L.A. Clippers 4-10 (Richardson 2-5, McInnis 1-1, Maggette 1-2, Piatkowski 0-1, Boykins 0-1). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--Minnesota 40 (Garnett 10), L.A. Clippers 36 (Olowokandi, Brand 8). Assists--Minnesota 23 (Billups 10), L.A. Clippers 26 (Brand, McInnis 6). Total fouls--Minnesota 22, L.A. Clippers 24. Technicals--Minnesota Defensive Three Second, Garnett, Olowokandi. A--19,567 (18,964).
