LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Blake Griffin had 25
points and 10 rebounds, Chris Paul added 21 points and the Los Angeles
Clippers held off the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-107 on Monday night
after Nikola Pekovic missed a tip-in at the buzzer.
Love missed first and Pekovic came up just short to end the Wolves' two-game winning streak.
Paul had 11 assists, Jamal Crawford
scored 18 points and DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 11 rebounds to
help the Clippers improve to 3-0 at home.
Kevin Martin scored 30 points for the Wolves, who lost their sixth straight against the Clippers.
Pekovic added 25 points, and Love had 23
points and 19 rebounds. They ended a 22-game series losing streak
against the Lakers on Sunday, and nearly stopped their skid against
Staples Center's other NBA team.
Los Angeles opened the fourth with a
14-7 run to build a 98-87 lead, its first by double digits since the
second quarter. Crawford scored eight points. Jordan missed all five of
his free throws in the period, clanking his last two off the front of
the rim while the Wolves got within six.
Minnesota cut its deficit to 101-99 on a
fast-break dunk by Martin off Paul's turnover. Martin hit a 3-pointer
on the previous possession.
The Clippers scored six in a row to go up 107-99 before the Wolves answered with six straight to trail 107-105.
Griffin got fouled and made both for a
109-107 lead. Corey Brewer missed a 3-pointer in the left corner, but
Pekovic was alone under the basket, grabbed the rebound and put it in to
keep the Wolves within two with 28 seconds left.
The teams played a back-and-forth
third, with neither leading by more than six points. Ricky Rubio's
3-pointer put the Wolves ahead 76-74 before the Clippers closed on an
11-4 run to lead 85-80. Crawford tossed up a 3-pointer from 15 feet
behind the midcourt line that banked in at the buzzer, enlivening the
crowd.
The Clippers used a 19-5 run, including
10 in a row, with six different players scoring to go up 53-42 in the
second quarter. Pekovic keyed a 16-6 spurt with nine points to send the
Wolves into halftime trailing 59-58.
Notes: Paul missed a free throw, going 7
of 8 to end his streak of converting 37 in a row. ... Barnes played
with a right thigh contusion. ... Wolves rookie Shabazz Muhammad, who
left UCLA after one year, sat after playing 2:47 against the Lakers in
his return to Los Angeles. ... Paul has at least 10 assists in all eight
games this season. ... The Clippers swept the Wolves in four games last
season.
