The Los Angeles Clippers will open a three-game road trip when they tip off against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
The Clippers will play their first game since veteran guard Russell Westbrook fractured his left hand on Friday against the Washington Wizards. The 35-year-old Westbrook is out indefinitely because of the injury.
In 58 games, Westbrook is averaging 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Backup guard Bones Hyland could see more playing time in Westbrook’s absence.
“Just feel bad for Russ right now,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said. “You never want to see a player get hurt. … We don’t know what timetable, don’t know if he needs surgery or anything yet. So (we’re) just trying to figure it out.”
Los Angeles will have to adapt to its Westbrook-less lineup against one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
Minnesota is coming off a 124-120 overtime loss against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. It was only the third loss in the past 11 games for the Timberwolves, with two of those three losses coming in overtime.
Timberwolves top scorer Anthony Edwards left Friday’s game during the third quarter because of personal reasons, reportedly for the birth of his child. His status is uncertain for Sunday against Los Angeles.
Edwards is averaging 26.3 points per game on 46.6 percent shooting from the field this season. He also is averaging 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists.
Karl-Anthony Towns ranks second on the scoring list with 22.3 points per game to go along with 8.5 rebounds. Rudy Gobert is averaging 13.6 points and 12.7 rebounds.
The Clippers are led by Kawhi Leonard, who is scoring 24.0 points to go along with 6.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Paul George is next with 22.1 points per game, and James Harden is averaging 17.6 points while shooting 41.6 percent from 3-point range.
George returned from a two-game absence on Friday. He scored 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting, including 2-for-6 from beyond the arc.
The veteran forward said his two-game break helped him to rest his sore left knee.
“I just needed some time off,” George said. “It was a rough stretch going into the (All-Star) break, coming out of the break, and so my body just needed that rest. But I felt good (Friday) and was able to walk out clean.”
The Timberwolves will look for a better start after back-to-back games in which they have been blitzed in the first few minutes. Minnesota fell behind 14-0 against Memphis on Wednesday, and it fell behind 20-6 against Sacramento on Friday.
“For whatever reason, man, the energy level has been low,” Timberwolves guard Mike Conley said. “Not from everybody, but just a couple guys here and there, different games. It’s been a different person every night, and it affects all five guys.
“If we don’t have everybody in the right state of mind to go out there and compete, we’re going to have starts like that. Teams coming out, trying to give us their best shot. They’re going to run, they’re going to play fast.”
Minnesota is 22-7 at home this season. The Clippers are 17-12 on the road.
–Field Level Media