Anthony Edwards carries the team on his back: Drops 37 in Minnesota Timberwolves dominant win over Los Angeles Clippers

Both teams suffered injuries to key players in this Western Conference showdown. After trailing by 22 points, Anthony Edwards took over and led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 118-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena.

In this game, Rudy Gobert and Kawhi Leonard all suffered injuries and did not return. The 3-time Defensive Player of the Year had a left rib injury with around 7 minutes remaining in the game. Due to the game being out of hand, head coach Chris Finch decided to sit the big man the rest of the way. Kawhi Leonard was dealing with back spasms in this one and only played 12 minutes before leaving the arena.

The short-handed Timberwolves were led by their All-Star Anthony Edwards, who erupted for 37 points in this contest. Nickeil Alexander-Walker dropped 28 points off the bench while hitting 5 three pointers in the process. Mike Conley had 23 points and also drained 5 triples. Rudy Gobert finished with 8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks before leaving the game.

Paul George led his team with 22 points. James Harden had a quiet night, finishing with just 12 points and 7 assists. Ivica Zubac had 10 points and 8 boards while Norman Powell contributed 11 points off the bench. Kawhi Leonard scored 6 points before exiting with his injury.

This was a huge win for the Timberwolves as they improve to 45-21 and sit just 0.5 games away from capturing the top seed. Minnesota is trying their best to win games without Karl-Anthony Towns and it’s been Ant-Man who carries the team. They are 6-4 over their last 10 games and will matchup against the Utah Jazz on Friday.

Meanwhile, this was a devastating loss for the Clippers who drop to 41-23. They are the 4th seed in the West and the 5th seeded Pelicans are slowly sneaking up on them as they are now just 2 games away from overtaking LA. Their main focus right now will be to make sure Kawhi Leonard is healthy and they’ll try to stay afloat while he is gone. They are 5-5 over their last 10 games and their next matchup will be on Thursday against the Chicago Bulls.