LOS ANGELES — Anthony Edwards scored 37 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker added a season-high 28 and the Minnesota Timberwolves roared back from an early 22-point deficit for a 118-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
Kawhi Leonard left the game with back spasms between the first two quarters, the Clippers said. He played the entire first quarter, but he was seen leaving the Clippers’ downtown arena during the second quarter.
Mike Conley scored 23 points with five 3-pointers for the Timberwolves, who avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season with a huge rally following Leonard’s departure. Rudy Gobert had eight points and 11 rebounds before leaving the game late with an apparent chest injury.
After trailing 57-35 midway through the second quarter, Minnesota seized control in the second half and finished the team’s largest comeback since November 2012.
Paul George scored 22 points and James Harden had 12 for the Clippers, who have lost two straight games for only the second time since Christmas. George and Leonard returned after they skipped the Clippers’ home loss to Milwaukee in the club’s second home tipoff in 22 hours last Sunday, although Leonard didn’t last long.
Alexander-Walker hit five 3-pointers during his highest-scoring performance in a Minnesota uniform while the Timberwolves improved to 2-2 on their six-game road trip.
Although Karl-Anthony Towns is out with the knee injury that’s likely to sideline him until the playoffs, Gobert returned from a one-game absence with a right hamstring injury. Gobert then apparently injured his ribs or sternum, heading to the locker room in obvious pain.