Clippers Make Climb to Mediocrity : Pro basketball: They beat the Timberwolves, 101-87, and improve record to 10-10.

Finally stepping on the shoulders of those supposedly beneath them, the Clippers climbed back to .500 for the first time since they were 5-5.

Maybe they were baby steps, but they were notable for a team that has lost to Sacramento, Dallas and Washington this season. The Clippers completed this stretch of favorable scheduling Saturday night by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 101-87, at the Sports Arena.

One game after beating Denver and two after disposing of Charlotte, the Clippers got 26 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots from Charles Smith and 11 points and 11 rebounds from Olden Polynice to improve their home record against the Timberwolves to 5-0.

And their overall mark to 10-10.

“We have been talking about it,” Polynice said of reaching .500 after his fifth double-double. “We had been using it as motivation. The closer it got, the more it helped us. It’s something we definitely talked about during practices or before a game. It had definitely been on our minds.

“Getting to .500 and getting over, that’s what we’re thinking about. We hit that stretch where things were not going well for us. We’ve hit a nice groove now. We have got all our players back, so we’re really showing what we can do.”

All the players means Smith, a reserve for the third consecutive game but gaining momentum with each outing.

Wednesday against San Antonio, he made only four of 12 shots, but had six blocked shots, two away from his career high. Friday against Denver, he went six of 11 from the field. Against the Timberwolves, he opened strong and finished 11 of 16.

With two more days off going toward conditioning before the Clippers, winners of four in a row, play again, Smith could be in the starting lineup by Tuesday’s game at Golden State.

“I felt pretty good,” Smith said. “I thought tonight would be a really big test for me after playing in Denver last night. This was my first back-to-back game, plus I had trouble with the altitude at Denver. I didn’t know if I was progressing or not. Tonight showed that I am progressing, because I was still going hard and playing well in the fourth quarter.”

Both teams played the night before and had close games--the Clippers winning at Denver and the Timberwolves losing at Seattle--but neither came out flat. Not that they didn’t struggle.

The Clippers shot 61.5% the first half to take a 53-47 lead at intermission, but it was that close only because they didn’t rebound well. Minnesota, one of the league’s poorer teams in that aspect, had 11 offensive rebounds in the first two quarters, four by Luc Longley. The Timberwolves then took advantage, scoring 17 points on second-chance baskets and free throws.

Mike Schuler noticed.

“Coach Schuler got a little bit upset at us (at halftime),” Polynice said. “That hit home. The guys decided to rebound.”

Minnesota got only two offensive rebounds the second half.

Even in the first half, there was some good news for the Clippers’ inside game--Smith continued to warm up offensively. He opened by going five of six in his first nine minutes for 14 points, tops among all scorers at halftime.

Come the third quarter, the Clippers, winning at home for the eighth time in 12 games, built the lead to as many as 13 points when Smith’s layup made it 70-57. The Timberwolves, getting 12 points in the quarter from Tony Campbell on five-of-six shooting, closed to within 76-70 at the start of the fourth and then got left behind.

The Clippers started the final quarter with an 11-2 run for an 87-72 cushion with 8:25 remaining. Minnesota (3-13) never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

Clipper Notes

Doc Rivers, who missed all of the second half and overtime of Friday’s victory at Denver because of flu, said he felt much better. The third Clipper to miss a game or be hindered by flu, following Gary Grant and LeRon Ellis, Rivers was back in the starting lineup against the Timberwolves.

Olden Polynice didn’t fare so well after being kneed in the right thigh by Nugget Reggie Williams in overtime. Polynice’s leg was sore Saturday. “That’s an understatement,” he said. “I’ve been limping all day.”

The Clippers shot 51.1%, breaking 50% twice in a row for the first time. They have gone 51% or better three of the last four games. . . . Tony Campbell and Pooh Richardson had 21 points each to lead the Timberwolves. Only one other player, Gerald Glass, reached double figures.