Monday, March 12, 2012

Timberwolves Rally Past Clippers

Al Jefferson had 30 points and 12 rebounds, Randy Foye tied a career-high with 26 points _ six in the final 1:15 _ and the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame a 13-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 99-96 on Saturday night.

The Timberwolves, who beat Sacramento on Friday night, have won consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 11-14, 2007.

Playing their fourth game in five nights, Minnesota used its 24th different starting lineup. Jefferson _ the only player to start all 62 games for the Wolves and the only one averaging more than 15 points _ was 13-for-22 from the field.

Corey Maggette led the Clippers with 29 points, Al Thornton added 18 and Chris Kaman had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Jefferson scored eight points during a 14-4 run, helping Minnesota turn an eight-point deficit into a 91-89 lead with 3:16 remaining. After Cuttino Mobley's 3-pointer gave Los Angeles a 94-93 lead with 1:39 to play, the Wolves regained the lead for good 24 seconds later on a 21-footer by Foye.

The second-year guard added a driving layup with 10.5 seconds left, and clinched it with a pair of free throws after Maggette hit a 20-footer to cut Minnesota's lead to a point with 3 seconds on the clock.

The Clippers called timeout and inbounded the ball for a chance at a tying 3, which Mobley shot over the rim from the left corner with a wide-open look as time expired. The loss was the Clippers' eighth in nine games.

Notes:@ Wolves C Michael Doleac was not with the club due to the death of his grandmother. ... The Clippers and Wolves have a combined total of 34 wins, which is fewer than 12 other NBA teams. ... The Clippers signed F Nick Fazekas to a second 10-day contract. ... The Wolves (14-48) are two losses away from matching last season's total with 23 games remaining. They would have to go 10-11 the rest of the way to avoid their sixth 60-loss season in the franchise's 19-year history, and their first since going 21-61 in 1994-95. ... Minnesota is 2-13 this season in the second game of back-to-back sets. ... The Wolves are 4-4 this season when Jefferson scores 30 points.

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