LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 19 points, Paul George had a triple-double and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied to beat the shorthanded Minnesota Timberwolves 99-88 Wednesday for their third straight win.
George finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Luke Kennard added season-high 16 points and four 3-pointers on a night that saw six Clippers finish in double figures.
After beating the Boston Celtics by 20 points on Monday, the Clippers started off in bad shape. They missed 13 of their first 15 shots to the basket and until the third quarter they did not exceed 30% of field goals made.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 19 points despite struggling with fouls. Rudy Gobert added 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The teams tied twice in the fourth quarter, the last time at 71 on a basket by Kyle Anderson.
From there, the Clippers outscored the Wolves 25-9 before both brought out subs for the final two minutes. Los Angeles scored eight straight points and Kennard hit two 3-pointers, while Nicolas Batum chipped in another.
George scored four in a row to push the Clippers’ lead to 91-78. He made a pair of free throws and Batum stole the ball and passed it to George for a layup.
The Timberwolves have been without Karl-Anthony Towns for several weeks with a strained right calf, while D’Angelo Russell is still suffering from a bruised left knee.
