Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 113-107 loss to Minnesota

The Clippers slid into a four-game losing streak following a 113-107 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Staples Center on Wednesday night. Here are five takeaways from the game.

1. Amid all the darkness surrounding the Clippers this season, Lou Williams remains a bright light.

Not only is he playing hard and scoring, Williams is a professional on all levels.

He doesn’t like the losing the Clippers have endured. But he always seems to trust the process.

He dropped in 23 points and handed out eight assists against the Timberwolves. He was nine for 20 from the field, four for nine from three-point range.

His four three-pointers put him over 1,000 for his career — 1,003 specifically.

2. The Clippers opened the fourth quarter with a second unit comprised of Williams, Jawun Evans, Jamil Wilson and Montrezl Harrell, and that group helped the Clippers get back into the game.

Along with starter Wesley Johnson, they all helped the Clippers pull to within six points before turning the game over to the rest of the starters.

But it was the energy and effort provided by Williams, Evans, Wilson and Harrell that made a difference.

3. The Clippers must continue to improve their defense. They allowed the Timberwolves to make 54.9% of their shots.

4. The Clippers slowed the pace of the game, and that helped them take good care of the basketball. They turned it over only nine times.

5. Though the Clippers didn’t get a lot of free-throw attempts, they didn’t convert enough of the ones they got. They were nine for 15 from the free-throw line. That’s 60% shooting.

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BA_Turner