Clippers Run Aground by Poor Late Execution

Sometimes you can’t help but feel the Clippers’ pain.

For what seemed like the 100th time this season, the Clippers played well enough to win Friday night but failed to execute in the final minutes and lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 95-89, at Target Center.

“We had an 11-point lead and then the next thing I know, we’re fighting for our lives,” point guard Jeff McInnis said of the Clippers’ third-quarter collapse. “[Kevin Garnett] got the crowd into it and then he got going. Once the crowd got hyped, we lost control of the game.”

The Clippers, who have lost seven of their last 10 games, had the Timberwolves right where they wanted them. Leading by four points at halftime, the Clippers expanded their advantage to 56-45 midway through the third quarter.

Everything was working. Lamar Odom was getting baskets any time he wanted. Michael Olowokandi was having a field day against Minnesota big men Rasho Nesterovic, Dean Garrett and LaPhonso Ellis. And, the Clippers’ defense was going a great job of shutting down Garnett inside and making the Timberwolves’ perimeter players work for every shot.

Then Odom, who had a team-high 21 points and nine rebounds, picked up his fourth foul, sending him to the bench for the rest of the quarter. With their leader off the floor, the Clippers lost their composure and then the lead.

Leading the charge for Minnesota was streak-shooting guard Anthony Peeler, who took full advantage of the Clippers’ defensive rotation problems. With Garnett commanding so much attention on the low post, Peeler scored 10 points during a 25-9 run for the Timberwolves, who led, 70-69, heading into the fourth quarter.

“He changed the whole game,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said of Peeler, who had two three-point baskets in the third quarter and finished with 14 points. “In a three- or four-minute stretch, he made some tough shots.”

Peeler’s shooting opened things up for Minnesota, which had missed all four of its three-point shots in the first half but made six of eight in the second.

“It’s tough when a guy gets going,” Clipper guard Quentin Richardson said. “Teams start setting double-screens, creating miscues on [defensive] switches. . . . They started hitting difficult shots and that’s what they needed.”

Minnesota, coming off consecutive tough losses to the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks, wanted to get off to a fast start against the Clippers, who beat them last month at Staples Center. In order for that to happen, the Timberwolves turned to Garnett and Wally Szczerbiak and they did not disappoint.

Garnett and Szczerbiak combined to score 11 quick points to help Minnesota jump out to an early lead but the Clippers stayed close by running the floor for easy baskets. So despite making only 36% of their shots, compared to Minnesota’s 50% shooting, the Clippers trailed by only 23-19 after one quarter.

When Gentry put 5-foot-6 point guard Earl Boykins into the game early in the second quarter, many Target Center fans snickered. They just didn’t know.

With Boykins controlling the flow, the Clippers dominated the second quarter, outscoring Minnesota, 25-17. Boykins had five points and two assists, and the Clippers made 11 of 18 shots to take a 44-40 halftime lead.

The third quarter belonged to the hot-shooting Peeler, but the Clippers were still in the hunt in the final quarter. They even held the lead at 75-73 before poor offensive execution cost them down the stretch. They had 24-second-clock violations on consecutive possessions at one point.

Minnesota’s defense limited the Clippers to seven points over an eight-minute stretch. The Timberwolves also did a better job of knocking down shots, especially backup guard Chauncey Billups, who made three three-point shots in the fourth quarter.

“When you are playing against a jump-shooting team [such as the Timberwolves], when they start [making three-pointers], that makes it very difficult,” Gentry said. “Especially with a player of Garnett’s caliber to post the ball to inside.”

Fortunately for the Clippers, they do not have to think long about their latest tough loss because they play at Atlanta tonight.