109-104, the Timberwolves upset defeated the Clippers to lock up the West's seventh promotion to the playoffs, Edwards 30 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Russell 29 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals, and the Twins teamed up with 59 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals, and the three rewrote the game ending.
Timberwolves reverse Clippers lock in seventh in the West
First, Towns went down and activated the double gun in the backcourt.
From the first second of the game, Lue instructed the three armies to target Downs, in a way: the defensive end Zubac back, the front line at any time, resolutely do not give him the opportunity to attack the basket, test downs' feel, the result of the entire first half of the game, Towns 7 in 0, the Clippers once established a 10-point advantage of one of the details; on the offensive end, Georges carried explosives packs to force, create his fouls, attack and defend the targeted effect, Towns only contributed 11 points in 3 of 11, 3 assists but 4 mistakes, the efficiency of the game was -14.
Towns scrambled for rebounds and 6 fouls to leave the field
However, after the third quarter 5 fouls Finch actually in the fourth quarter there are 9 minutes and 30 seconds, directly sent to Towns, common sense, will let him appear in the last 5 minutes, 4 minutes in advance can only explain a problem, Finch coach gambled, 6 fouls on 6 fouls, anyway, no Towns team played very well, as a result, 7 minutes and 30 seconds Towns grabbed rebound fouls officially graduated.
In terms of this game alone, Downs' downside was actually good for the Timberwolves, as Edwards and Russell were in excellent form.
Edwards has elite-level athleticism and has strong confidence, he is the only one who can burst into the heart of the paint with the Clippers sacrificing the iron barrel, in addition, today's three-point feeling online, 10 of 21 in the game, 5 of 11 three-pointers, efficiently blasted down 30 points to provide offensive firepower.
Russell chased for three points
Russell's defense was collectively targeted by the Clippers forwards, which could be turned to the offensive end, Russell's ability was obvious to all, the team fell behind 44-46 in the last two minutes of the second quarter, his big slalom foul 2 of 1, strong breakthrough 2+1, left low mid-range, arc top three-pointer, personal 9 consecutive points to help the Timberwolves 53-51 rebound; final quarter showdown, need the leader to solve the problem, Russell breakthrough, three points, especially the right arc top of the mid-range, 7 points output to harvest victory. In the game, Russell contributed 29 points and 6 assists on 10-of-18 shooting, the second shot!
What concept? Downs was trapped in this game, he was in foul trouble, especially 6 fouls, forcing the team to put all the offensive weights in the hands of Edwards and Russell, and the double gun felt excellent, helping the team from the offensive end.
Second, the strange Lu guidance.
Last season's playoffs have been consecutive big reversals, this season's 5 20-point reversals, 3 25+ big reversals, Lu guidance is recognized by fans as a master of on-the-spot adjustment, but today's game, Lu's on-field adjustment is too weird.
The Timberwolves once overtook 61-56 in the third quarter, and at the critical moment, Lu directed the following lineup: Covington, Batum, Morris, Powell and George's five-forward lineup, and the subsequent rotation, never sent Zubac, mainly based on the small-ball lineup, the effect, the Clippers blasted a 28-14 climax in 7 minutes to 84-75, if it were not for the final-minute leak defense Bees depressed three points, they would enter the final quarter with a 9-point advantage, but what is unexpected?
The Clippers' five-forward lineup overtook the Timberwolves in the third quarter
In the final quarter, Lu guided to take back Zubac, the consequence, the outbreak of Russell in the second quarter, is to find Vanderbilt to block the demolition of the army to train Zubac, and now Zubac is on the scene? Russell's blocking, Edwards' breakthrough, Gemini's press against Zubac is a friction, the most important point, even if Lu guides Zubac, but does not use Covington, so:
Timberwolves trailed 83-93, Towns flew Zubac to a layup and made a foul to contribute 3 points on 1 of 2 free throws, followed by 6 fouls; Daniels made 1 of 2 fouls, Beasley scored three points, Edwards broke through, Reid made a basket, Russell three-pointers, Edwards split, Timberwolves a wave 16-2 to 99-95 rebound; Zubac came back to 98-99, Edwards three points, Russell mid-range, Edwards forced two fouls, double gun three military training Zubac killed the game.
Russell continued to train Zubac in the middle range
Puzzling, Covington performed very well in the third quarter, the five-forward lineup attacked and defended both ends of the Timberwolves, why lu coached why the last quarter was not enabled again? It's really bizarre.
Third, Beverley's spirit inspires and suppresses.
The Timberwolves' talent is far above the Clippers, what is lacking is experience and the confidence of the players, and Beverley has perfectly fulfilled the role of veteran leader.
In the second quarter, the team's offense fell into a scoring drought, and he broke through twice to help the team break the game; the Clippers overtook in the third quarter, beverly fighting with Morris and Reggie in a row, fighting, and helping the team grab the ball with fierce steals, especially in the last 35 seconds, he directly killed Reggie's one-on-one steals.
Beverly made a one-on-one steal Reggie to kill the game
After the game, Beverly excitedly jumped on the technical platform and shouted to mobilize the passion of the fans on the spot, his fighting spirit, entanglement with opponents, and even the top defense of the outside line, making up for the lack of experience and temperament of the Timberwolves, pointing out the right direction for the young "little wolves", which is also one of the important turning points of the game.
At this point, how did the Timberwolves reverse the generally optimistic Clippers? Towns left the field with six fouls, activating the backcourt double gun, after all, they had unparalleled talent; Lou's coaching spooky five-forward lineup led by Covington in the final quarter; and Beverley injecting experience and passion into the young Timberwolves, a trio that worked together to rewrite the final outcome of the game.