The story for the Clippers on Wednesday night was their list of injured players. Yet even without four key players, the Clippers had no choice but to push on against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Intuit Dome.
The problem was the Timberwolves pushed back harder, leading by as many as 41 in a 108-80 win.
Playing seven games in 11 days hasn’t helped the Clippers weather their injury issues.
Read more: Norman Powell and James Harden lead Clippers to dominant win over Portland
Kawhi Leonard has yet to play this season as his right knee recovers. He was joined on the bench Wednesday by Terance Mann, Norman Powell, Kevin Porter Jr. and Kobe Brown.
The Clippers said Mann has a fractured left middle finger and will have surgery Thursday and be reevaluated in three weeks. Brown has a herniated disk in his back and will be reevaluated in two weeks.
Porter missed his third consecutive game because of a sprained left ankle and Powell, the Clippers’ leading scorer (23.9 points per game), rested after he played two straight games — including the night before — after missing the previous six because of a left hamstring injury.
“In our mindset, no matter who is on the floor, every night we want to play hard and compete on the defensive end,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said before the game. “Like, that’s got to be our staple every night and that’s what our team has given us so far these first [23] games. And, so, the next guy in the rotation, the next man up, they are going to come in and do the same thing. So, nothing really changes.”
From the start, the Clippers (14-10) could see it was going to be a long night.
They were held to 14 points in the first quarter, shooting just 27.3% from the field and 15.4% (two for 13) from three-point range. They scored 32 points in the first half, shooting 28.6% overall and 21.7% from three.
Meanwhile, the Clippers gave up 33 points in the first quarter. Minnesota shot 54.2% from the field and 46.7% (seven for 15) on threes. Forward Julius Randle scored 16 of his 20 points in the quarter.
James Harden missed his first eight attempts, four of them three-pointers. He scored his first points on two free throws late in the second quarter. He made his first field goal with 6 minutes 21 seconds left in the third, on a three.
He completed his night going one for 10 from the field and one for six from three-point range, scoring a season-low five points after coming in averaging 22.3.
Backup guard Bones Hyland led the Clippers with 18 points.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
