MINNEAPOLIS — Two of the players most criticized this season among Timberwolves fans have been Rudy Gobert and D'Angelo Russell.
On Friday, both players showed how good they could be, and how good the Wolves can be when they are at the top of their games.
The Wolves had one of their easiest victories of the season, 128-115 over a Clippers team that was without Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Nicolas Batum.
But even with Los Angeles' short-handed roster, nothing is ever a given with these Wolves, who won their third straight after losing six consecutive games.
The win did come with a moment of concern for the Wolves as Anthony Edwards left the game in the third quarter with hip soreness he had been playing through since suffering a hard fall against Milwaukee on Dec. 30. Naz Reid also left the game because of back spasms that caused him to miss the previous two games.
Russell had 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting and was 10 for 10 from the free-throw line for the Timberwolves. Rudy Gobert was 11 for 15 for 25 points to go along with 21 rebounds. This was Gobert's ninth career game with 20 or more in each category.
The Wolves had a sloppy first half with 11 turnovers, but they played good offense when they weren't turning the ball over. They shot 65% for the half and got Gobert involved in the offense from the start. He had 19 points and nine rebounds in the first half on 8-of-9 shooting. Kyle Anderson (12 points, seven rebounds, six assists) and Jaden McDaniels (18 points) each found Gobert for multiple lob passes that led to easy dunks.
Russell picked up the slack after struggling Wednesday night and had 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
The Wolves jumped out to a 23-13 lead only for the Clippers to cut into it.
John Wall (14 points) had 10 points, five assists in the first half for the Clippers as he took advantage of the Wolves' leaky transition defense. Norman Powell (21 points) also had a 12-point burst in the first quarter but didn't score in the second.
Despite their hot shooting, the Wolves led just 53-49 toward the end of the second quarter thanks in part to their turnovers. But they closed strong on a 15-5 run to take a 68-54 lead into the locker room. That run featured a few key defensive plays and buckets from Gobert.
The Wolves came out running in the third quarter and opened the game up by scoring in transition. They extended their lead to as much as 92-69. With Gobert off the floor, the Clippers climbed back in the game, and cut the Wolves lead to 92-79 before coach Chris Finch called a timeout with 1 minute, 19 seconds remaining.
When Gobert re-entered the game, the Wolves pushed their lead back to 100-79, meaning the Wolves accomplished something they haven't done much of recently — win a third quarter.
It was also the sixth time this season they had scored 100 through three quarters.
