Clippers 111, Timberwolves 95
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Clippers unleashed a familiar brand of balanced ball to clinch a season sweep of the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 111-95 win Wednesday night at Staples Center.
Capitalizing on poor shooting night by the Timberwolves -- Minnesota shot just 38.9 percent from the field and 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) from 3-point range -- the Clippers were off to the races.
Los Angeles had seven players score in double figures while posting a 48-38 rebound advantage and handing out 34 assists on 44 baskets.
Little surprise, Chris Paul was in the center of it all.
The point guard had 19 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds -- and added four steals and two blocks for good measure -- as the Clippers set a franchise record with their 31st home win.
Los Angeles (52-26) led by as much as 13 early in the second half before the Timberwolves chipped away at the lead, cutting the margin to three with 6:30 left in the third quarter.
Behind Paul and Willie Green, the Clippers regained control with a 19-6 run to go up by 16 heading into the fourth.
Green had 15 points, hitting all three of his 3-point attempts, and Blake Griffin had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Los Angeles. Matt Barnes had 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Lamar Odom added 13 rebounds.
Nikola Pekovic had 20 points to lead five Timberwolves in double figures, but no other player had more than 13 points.
NOTES: Chauncey Billups (groin) remains out for the Clippers. ... Kevin Love (hand), Malcolm Lee (knee) and Brandon Roy (knee) remain out for Minnesota. ... Before Wednesday, Green had started 57 of 77 games at shooting guard with Billups sidelined, and the Clippers were 37-20 in those games. ... Griffin had 26 points and 13 rebounds in the teams' last matchup, a 96-90 Los Angeles win on Jan. 30. ... Minnesota won the 2011-12 season series 3-1 after losing six of the previous eight games against the Clippers. ... Pekovic is coming off the best week of his career and perhaps the Timberwolves' best week in four years. Pekovic averaged 25 points while leading Minnesota to a 3-1 record from April 1-7 and was named Western Conference player of the week, the team's first such honor since Al Jefferson was cited in January 2009. ... Both teams thrive at turning defense into offense. The Clippers rank first in the NBA with 9.89 steals per game and first in points off turnovers, and the Timberwolves rank eighth in both categories. ... Paul leads the NBA with a 4.15 assist/turnover ratio and 2.43 steals per game and ranks second in steals, assists and assists per game. ... Ricky Rubio ranks second behind Paul in steals per game and seventh in the NBA in assists per game. ... The Clippers last swept a season series from Minnesota in 1992-93. ... The Timberwolves entered the night with 489 wins over the Clippers, their highest total against any opponent.
