Anthony Edwards made a crucial 3-pointer with 2:24 left to give the Minnesota Timberwolves a 93-92 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night in Minneapolis during NBA Cup West Group A play.
Edwards turned a 90-87 deficit into a 93-90 lead by scoring a dunk, hitting the 3-pointer, and making a free throw.
Ivica Zubac scored a putback with 50.9 seconds left to bring the Clippers within one, but a messy defensive play in the final moments stopped the Clippers from winning.
Minnesota’s Mike Conley got a steal with 26.1 seconds remaining and helped the Timberwolves keep possession to run out the clock. Conley eventually got the ball back and took a quick 3-pointer when the shot clock was about to expire.
Conley missed, but Edwards grabbed the rebound. He also missed his shot, but teammate Rudy Gobert got another offensive rebound and ran out the clock.
Edwards finished with 21 points, Conley had 13 points, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 12 points with 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who ended group play with a 2-2 record.
James Harden (20 points, 11 assists) and Zubac (16 points, 13 rebounds) each posted a double-double for the Clippers, who are 1-2 in West Group A with one game remaining. Kevin Porter Jr. added 17 points but hurt his ankle late in the fourth quarter.
The Clippers tied the score at 57 with Zubac’s hook shot at 9:38 of the third quarter. Julius Randle then answered with a jumper to start a 15-4 run for the Timberwolves.
From that point on, Los Angeles took control, finishing the third quarter with a 7-0 run to cut Minnesota’s lead to 72-68 going into the fourth.
After Porter hit a floater to score the first points of the second quarter, the Timberwolves went on a 14-2 run to take a 40-29 lead with 8:17 left in the first half.
Minnesota led 51-41 after Edwards made two free throws with 2:20 to go in the second, but the Clippers scored six of the last eight points of the half to close the gap to 53-47 at halftime.
