Clippers Get The Win Against Timberwolves Sunday 124-105 At Staples Center
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) — Paul George led five starters in double figures with 23 points and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-105 on Sunday night for their eighth win in nine games.
This is the first time in more than a year that Clippers fans have gotten to see their team play live and in-person, since the Staples Center only began allowing fans to return last week as long as they followed the venue's COVID-19 protocols, and the Clippers didn't disappoint.
Kawhi Leonard had 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in his return from a four-game absence because of a sore right foot. Fans attending a Clippers game at Staples Center for the first time in over a year saw their team hit a season-high 21 3-pointers.
Anthony Edwards scored 23 points to lead the Wolves, who dropped their sixth in a row on the road. Karl-Anthony Towns added 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting. He missed five of six 3s.
The Clippers pulled away in the second quarter, scoring 43 points and hitting 10 3-pointers. They stretched a three-point lead to 23 on Marcus Morris' 3 before Leonard's second 3 of the game sent them into halftime leading 72-53. Morris finished with 19 points.
Los Angeles followed with 32 points in the third when its lead expanded to 38 points — largest of the game — on a pair of free throws by Terance Mann. The Clippers held the Wolves to 16 points in the quarter, when Towns picked up his fourth foul after scoring his lone basket.
The Wolves won the fourth quarter, outscoring the Clippers' reserves, 36-20, but it never made a dent. Minnesota had seven 3s to LA's two.
The Clippers' 21st 3-pointer was made by Malik Fitts, who recently signed a 10-day contract.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)