The Minnesota Timberwolves are just two games up on the Los Angeles Clippers after falling to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They face the Clippers on Tuesday night.
Fortunately, they’ve had L.A.’s number all season, and then some.
The Wolves are undefeated in their last five meetings with the Clippers, their longest active winning streak against a single team, and L.A.’s longest string of defeats against a single team.
Despite the disparity, the two teams have been evenly matched in a few areas since the streak began — Minnesota has been just .02 percent better from the field — but star center Karl-Anthony Towns and the Wolves have owned the glass.
| Clippers | Wolves | |
| Wins | 0 | 5 |
| Points/Gm | 104.6 | 112.4 |
| FG% | .481 | .483 |
| Rebounds/Gm | 39.4 | 45.6 |
| 2nd Chance PPG | 12.2 | 18.0 |
Towns will once again go head-to-head with Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. The two rank second (Jordan) and third (Towns) in rebounds per game this season behind Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond heading into their 10th career matchup.
| Jordan | Towns | |
| Team wins | 4 | 5 |
| Points/Gm | 17.8 | 21.6 |
| Rebounds/Gm | 13.6 | 10.7 |
| Offensive Rebounds/Gm | 4.8 | 2.8 |
| Blocks/Gm | 2.0 | 1.1 |
| FG% | .810 | .603 |
Other notes:
— Minnesota is 26-9 (.723) at home this season, the fifth best such record in the league this season.
— Towns had 20 points and 18 rebounds Sunday against the Rockets for his league-leading 59th double-double.
— Wolves forward Nemanja Bjelica is averaging 14.1 points per game in March after averaging 5.9 points in every prior game this season. It’s the fourth-largest such spike in the league over that span.
Statistics courtesy of STATS