Ball, McDaniels lead Timberwolves past Clippers 127-101

LaMelo Ball scored 24 points and Jaden McDaniels added 23 as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the LA Clippers 127-101 on Friday, October 30, making 18 threes and handing out 32 assists.

Ball shot 6-of-15 from 3-point range and had 7 assists. McDaniels made 11 of his 15 shots. Rudy Gobert grabbed 13 rebounds.

The Clippers' biggest lead was 13-10 early in the first quarter. Minnesota won that quarter 34-24 and stayed ahead by double digits for most of the game.

Los Angeles pushed once, in the third quarter, with an 11-0 run that cut the deficit to 98-90. Minnesota (4-2) answered with a 10-0 run early in the fourth for a 116-92 lead, which reached 29 points at 121-92 with 2:54 left.

Nah'Shon Hyland scored 19 points in 20 minutes off the bench and had 8 assists, part of 51 bench points for Minnesota. Ayo Dosunmu hit 3 of 4 threes and scored 15, and Terrence Shannon Jr. added 11.

Darius Garland led the Clippers (1-4) with 24 points on 10-of-22 shooting but had 5 turnovers. Keaton Wagler scored 12 on 2-of-11 shooting, and Los Angeles was outscored by 24 points while he played.

Minnesota's effective field goal percentage was 62.5, against 48.2 for Los Angeles. The Clippers turned the ball over 17 times and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, yet never cut into the lead.

Shannon hit a 3-pointer with 31.4 seconds left to make it 125-99, and Zyon Pullin followed with an 8-foot shot. Wagler scored the last basket with 2.7 seconds left.

Up next

Timberwolves: at the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, October 31.

Clippers: at the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, November 1.