CLIPPERS STRONG AT THE FINISH DEFENSE HOLDS TIMBERWOLVES CLIPPERS 94, MINNESOTA 75.Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer The Clippers played such sound defense that applause persisted past the final buzzer. A group that included owner Donald T. Sterling showered the Clippers with applause as they changed in their dressing room. Although Minnesota started as one of the hottest teams in the NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= , the Clippers were mot fazed faze tr.v. fazed, faz·ing, faz·es To disrupt the composure of; disconcert. See Synonyms at embarrass. [Middle English fesen, to drive away, frighten . They beat the Timberwolves 94-75 Wednesday night before 16,335 at Staples Center This article has multiple issues: * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. . The Clippers won this one with defense. The Timberwolves shot just 36.3 percent and never got their offense going. Perhaps the best statistic to indicate the Clippers' defensive dominance was that Michael Olowokandi Michael Olowokandi (born April 3 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria), nicknamed The Kandi Man is a Nigerian professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. He currently is a free agent. had a team-high 40 minutes. ``A lot of guys stood out,'' Clippers coach Alvin Gentry Alvin Gentry is an American professional basketball coach, and college basketball player, who has led three different NBA teams. He served as an interim coach for the Miami Heat at the end of the 1995 season, and later coached the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Clippers. said. ``But I thought Michael was the difference. He played as good as he's played since he's been here. He was terrific. When we needed big rebounds and big baskets, he stepped up.'' Olowokandi had seven points, but he had 12 rebounds and was a force inside. ``We know that the NBA is marketed on offense,'' Olowokandi said. ``You don't see a lot of stats on defense. When you look at the big screens in arenas, you usually don't see defense. If you look at our team, we have a lot of offense. So I just tried to bring the team some energy and defense.'' Eric Piatkowski Eric Todd Piatkowski (pronounced IPA: /ˌpaɪətˈkaʊski/) (born September 30, 1970, in Steubenville, Ohio) is an American National Basketball Association player with the Phoenix Suns. scored 24 points, without a point in the fourth quarter. Piatkowski shot 9 of 14 and was 5 of 6 from 3-point range. Elton Brand Elton Tyron Brand (born March 11, 1979 in Peekskill, New York) is an American All-Star professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers and the USA National Team. added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers (7-8). Flip Saunders, who coaches Minnesota (10-4), was a strong advocate of the zone defense. However, Piatkowski is, too, beating the Timberwolves with his outside shot. ``After I made my second shot, I had a supreme amount of confidence,'' Piatkowski said. ``I felt the shots I took were pretty easy. I was open, and I know why I'm here in the league, to make open jump shots.'' Piatkowski helped the Clippers have their best shooting night by far as they went 12 of 18 (66.7 percent) from 3-point range. CAPTION(S): box Box: GAME RECAP |
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