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Timberwolves finish off Clippers sweep
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-28 17:42
Latrell Sprewell scored 18 points, Kevin Garnett had 17 points and 15
rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves completed a four-game season sweep of
the Los Angeles Clippers with a 98-82 victory on Saturday night.
Minnesota
Timberwolves center Ervin Johnson, right, shoots over the defense of Los
Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand, left, during the first half
Saturday, March 27, 2004, in Los Angeles.
[AP] | Playing at Staples Center for the second
consecutive night — after shooting a season-low 31.4 percent in a 17-point loss
to the Lakers — Minnesota pulled into a tie with the Lakers for second place in
the Western Conference standings, two games behind Sacramento with eight to
play.
The victory gave the Midwest Division-leading Timberwolves their third
straight 50-win season.
Elton Brand's 22 points and rookie Chris Kaman's career-high 19 points and 12
rebounds couldn't prevent a season-worst seventh straight defeat for the
Clippers. They have dropped 15 of 17 and five straight at home.
Minnesota beat the Clippers for the seventh straight time, including a 95-64
rout last season at Los Angeles — the Timberwolves' largest winning margin ever
on the road.
Center Michael Olowokandi played his first game against the Clippers since
leaving as a free agent last offseason and scored seven point in 12 minutes. The
sellout crowd of 19,424 booed him when he entered the game at the start of the
second quarter, and every time he touched the ball.
Olowokandi, who spent his first five NBA seasons with the Clippers after
becoming the first overall pick in the 1998 draft, didn't play in the first
three meetings because of an injured right knee that required arthroscopic
surgery on Dec. 12.
The Clippers were trailing 73-59 when forward Corey Maggette received a
technical foul from referee Ed Malloy with 2:01 left in the third quarter, then
flung the ball back at him and was ejected after scoring 17 points. Dunleavy was
ejected moments later by Dan Crawford after getting his second technical foul.
Assistant coach Jim Eyen guided the Clippers the rest of the way, and they
cut the deficit to 11 points with 9:48 remaining.
But Garnett triggered a 7-0 spurt with a 20-footer and Wally Szczerbiak
followed with a 13-footer and a 3-pointer for a 88-70 cushion with 8:13 to play.
The Clippers got no closer than 12 points with 2:34 left.
Sprewell drained three shots from behind the arc in a 71-second span late in
the second quarter to help Minnesota take a 52-42 halftime lead.
Notes:@ The Timberwolves avoided their first three-game losing streak of the
season. The only other teams that haven't lost more than two straight are
Indiana and Sacramento. ... The only other time Minnesota swept all four games
against the Clippers was 1997-98. ... The Timberwolves are 7-7 this month after
going a combined 34-9 in December, January and February.
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