Timberwolves keep first place in the West: Huazi scored 20 points in a single quarter, Li Kaier hit a key shot, and the Clippers scored 68 points with 4 stars

On January 15, Beijing time, the Clippers faced off against the Timberwolves, and in the end, the Clippers missed the big reversal. In the whole game, Xiaoka had 26 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, George was 5 of 19 and got 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Harden was 4 of 13 and had 14 points and 8 assists, Powell had 24 points, and Wei Shao had 12 points, 13 assists and 7 rebounds. For the Timberwolves, Edwards had 33 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, Gobert had 15 points and 18 rebounds, Towns had 17 points and 5 assists, and Lee Kyle had 10 points and 3 assists.

Before the game, the Timberwolves were 27-11 and in first place in the West, and the Clippers were 25-13 and two wins behind in fourth place. Therefore, this game is obviously the best chance for the Clippers to close the gap, and at the same time, if the Timberwolves lose, they will give up the first place in the West.

In the face of the strongest defense in the league, the Clippers were quite slow to heat up, and in the entire first quarter, the Clippers scored only 19 points, and Harden and George played crazy iron. The Timberwolves started the game on a 21-8 run and ended the first quarter with a 29-19 lead.

In the second quarter, Xiaoka stood up, and at the same time, Wei Shao and Powell who came off the bench also performed well, and the Clippers fought back. Wei Shao made a layup to make 2 plus 1, and then assisted Powell to counterattack and dunk, and the Clippers completed the overtake. Edwards made a layup to give the Timberwolves a 46-45 lead at halftime.

Throughout the first half, George was 1-of-10 and scored just 3 points. Harden was 1-of-6 for four points and three assists. He was 5-of-11 from the field and scored 14 points. Powell scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Wei Shao made 1 shot, got 2 points, 7 assists and 2 steals.

Coming back from halftime, the league's No. 1 defense came into full play again, and the Clippers' small lineup was quite difficult to score. The Clippers scored 23 points in the entire third quarter, and the Timberwolves led 81-68 at the end of the third quarter. It is worth mentioning that Edwards exploded in the third quarter, scoring 20 points in a single quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Clippers chased points, George hit a three-pointer, and the Clippers trailed by 9 points. After the timeout, Lee Kyle scored five key points, and McDaniels added a dunk to give the Timberwolves a lead of 16 points. After that, the Clippers chased down to only 8 points, McDaniels hit a key three-pointer, Powell counterattacked and dunked, and the Clippers fell behind 94-103. Harden hit a three-pointer and the Clippers trailed by six points. Powell also had a three-pointer as the Clippers trailed 100-103. Gobert hit two free throws, Jr. missed a three-point attempt, Gobert continued to hit two free throws, and the Timberwolves had the last laugh.