Kawhi Leonard delivered a dominant performance with 41 points and eight rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers pulled away from the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 115-96 victory on Sunday night.
Leonard controlled the game from the opening minutes and sparked the decisive stretch late in the third quarter, when Los Angeles closed the period on a 17-3 run to take firm command. John Collins added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser also finished with 15 for the Clippers, who bounced back after a recent skid.
Anthony Edwards scored 23 points to lead Minnesota, with Julius Randle contributing 17. The Timberwolves have now lost three of their past four games, all against teams below .500. Minnesota struggled on both ends, shooting just 8 of 33 from 3-point range, committing 20 turnovers and being held under 100 points for only the second time this season.
Ayo Dosunmu made his Timberwolves debut after arriving in a trade with Chicago and finished with 11 points and two steals, but Minnesota again couldn’t find rhythm after a frustrating loss earlier in the week in which it surrendered an 18-point second-half lead to New Orleans.
Leonard set the tone early, scoring 24 points in the first half and fueling an 18-2 run late in the second quarter that gave the Clippers a 54-42 lead at the break. Minnesota compounded its issues by going just 3 of 18 from beyond the arc in the opening half, with Edwards missing all six of his attempts from deep and committing four turnovers before halftime.
The Clippers played without two recent trade acquisitions. Darius Garland remained sidelined with a sprained right big toe, while Bennedict Mathurin, acquired from Indiana, is expected to make his Los Angeles debut Tuesday in Houston.
Up next:
The Clippers visit Houston on Tuesday night, while the Timberwolves return home to host Atlanta on Monday.
