Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers had a golden opportunity to secure a spot in the 2022 NBA Playoffs against Patrick Beverley and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Their game plan worked all night. Unfortunately, it worked too well, and that golden opportunity slipped away.
The Clippers fell to the Timberwolves, 109-104, in the play-in tournament's 7-8 matchup on Tuesday night. Paul George finished with a game-high 34 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals. It wasn't enough, however, to counter Anthony Edwards' 30-point performance and D'Angelo Russell's 29-point game.
The Clippers entered the night with an incredible game plan to make life a living hell for Karl-Anthony Towns. They did just that, as the three-time NBA All-Star finished with just 11 points on just 3-of-11 shooting. He only played 24 minutes as he dealt with foul trouble most of the night.
Towns fouled out with 7:34 remaining and with the Clippers leading the Timberwolves, 93-86. From that point on, Minnesota outscored LA 23-11 to win and secure the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
“Well, we did a good job with Karl-Anthony Towns,” head coach Tyronn Lue said. “Double-teams, our physicality, keeping him out of the paint. We did a good job with that.
“When he went out, they kind of switched. DLo is the guy I was worried about them coming to because he's aggressive. DLo was the one that I was scared he could take over the game. He did that. I should have did a better job adjusting, blitz a little bit more, try to get the ball out of his hands. He was pretty aggressive and was able to carry them home.”
"Our gameplan changed once big KAT went out of the game. But like I said, they played well. I thought they really picked up their physicality, they were more aggressive than us, and they were tougher. They deserved to win the game."
– Ty Lue on tonight's loss to the Wolves pic.twitter.com/kMAfvWw4di
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 13, 2022
Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell carried the offensive workload for the Timberwolves once Towns exited the game, and the Clippers had no answer. With Karl-Anthony Towns on the court, Minnesota was outscored by 14. With Towns off the court, Minnesota outscored LA by 19.
“We was trying to keep Zubac on the floor, Vanderbilt on the floor,” Lue added. “They went small, went with Naz. That hurt us because they were able to drive the basketball. Wasn't any shot blocking or rim protection. We were scoring. When they stopped scoring, we couldn't get stops. That kind of hurt us on the defensive end. The point of attack, they just kind of sought out the matchup they wanted and they was able to attack us, kind of play out of that.”
“Our game plan changed once big KAT went out of the game. Like I said, they played well. I thought they really picked up their physicality, were more aggressive than us. They were tougher. So they deserved to win the game.”
Paul George shot 2-of-10 from the field in the first half for nine points. He exploded for 17 third-quarter points on 5-of-8 shooting, bringing the Clippers from down two at halftime to up six going into the fourth quarter.
“I thought we executed the game plan,” said Paul George. “Karl-Anthony Towns was obviously the main focus. But, you know, it's the reason why this team is playing at a high level and they're moving on. They deserved the playoff spot.
“They have a talented roster, so when Karl-Anthony Towns goes down, D'Angelo Russell steps up, Anthony Edwards steps up, then their role guys, they shine in their roles. It's really what happened. Thought that fourth quarter, 50/50 balls, we didn't get. We didn't rebound well enough. I thought we just didn't execute great down the stretch.”
Patrick Beverley picked up three fouls in the first quarter, but was able to avoid foul trouble en route to 33 minutes. His box-score numbers — Seven points, 11 rebounds, and three assists — don't jump out at you. He clearly made his impact with his defense and personality.
“It shows,” George said of Beverley's impact on the Timberwolves. “I mean, they got guys that are a little bit more confident. His energy and his persona, you know, rubbed off, they made an impact on that roster.
“I know what it was coming into this game. I wasn't going to allow Pat to do his antics and try to get me flustered. I knew it's all for show. It's for the crowd. Gets the crowd involved. I love it. I love it. I miss it. He do it on our side because it's contagious. I think when he's in that mode, it ignites the team, ignites the arena. You need energy guys like that.”
Reggie Jackson added that he couldn't be happier for Patrick Beverley and the success he's seeing now with the Timberwolves.
“Hats off to him,” Jackson said of Patrick Beverley. “I mean, he came here and he's done something that he set out to do. Really wanted to help get them back in the playoffs. Like I said, best of luck to them going forward. It's always fun playing against Pat. Especially when we play against him as a defender, two guys going to their strength. Just like the way he competed. Fortunate enough for him and their team, they got the win. Unfortunately for us. Fortunate we have another one on Friday.
“It's always fun competing against him. I wish we came out on top. But fortunately enough we have another one on Friday.”
Now the Clippers' season comes down to just one game. The team will return home, where they'll host a game Friday night against the loser of the matchup between the No. 9 New Orleans Pelicans and No. 10 San Antonio Spurs.
“Honestly it's not even about the matchup,” George said. “It's win or go home. Obviously we don't win, we go home. I could care less who we play. The mindset is we have to win regardless. There's no pep talk, X's and O's. We got to win. We got to win if we want to continue our season
"Honestly, it's not even about the matchup. it's win or go home. Obviously, if we don't win we go home. I could care less who we play. The mindset is we have to win. There's no pep-talk, X's and O's. We gotta win. We gotta win if we wanna continue our season."
– Paul George pic.twitter.com/8ij0jb1WNG
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 13, 2022
Paul George and the Clippers have the right mindset, but now they have to go execute on Friday after blowing that golden opportunity on Tuesday.
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