Wolves shake off slow start, beat Clippers with new-look starting lineup

Anthony Edwards made sure Minnesota would snap a three-game skid Monday night.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards dribbles past Los Angeles Clippers guard Norman Powell in the first quarter at Target Center in Minneapolis on Jan. 6, 2025. / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Just days after indicating he had no plans to make changes to the starting lineup, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch decided to reverse course and make a change. Donte DiVincenzo made his third start of the season on Monday night against the Los Angeles Clippers in place of Mike Conley. This time his start wasn't because of an injury absence.

Conley wasn't ruled out for injury or rest; he was active and saw his usual workload. This was an intentional change to get Conley going after a slow start to the season. While the new-look starting five started slow, the Wolves rebounded and Conley looked more like himself in a 108-106 victory over the Clippers Monday night at Target Center in Minneapolis.

The Wolves (18-17) snapped a three-game skid with the victory.

It was Anthony Edwards who put the finishing touches on a game that went down to the wire with one big shot after another. He hit a go-ahead 3 with just over three minutes remaining, then another go-ahead 3 two minutes later. After the Wolves stopped the Clippers (20-16) on the other end, Edwards hit what was essentially the dagger, a 3 to put Minnesota up 106-101 with 34.4 seconds left. Edwards finished with a game-high 37 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

"I thought he did a good job of finding people, mixing up the balance of being aggressive and also playmaking, getting into the heart of the defense, going quick, staying in one direction when he did go," Finch said of Edwards. "Not trying to overcomplicate it in a crowd. And obviously hit some massive, big shots."

That all unfolded after a trying start from the new-look starting five, who scored just seven points in the first six-plus minutes of the game. The Wolves were down 13-7 when Finch made his first substitutions. Things started to snowball from there as Minnesota scored just 16 points in the first quarter and fell behind by as many as 19 in the second frame.

But a familiar lineup steadied the ship in the second quarter. That unit featured Conley, Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid — the group that was Minnesota's starting five during Karl-Anthony Towns' injury absence last season. That lineup closed the second quarter on a 23-11 run over the final 7:29 to cut their deficit to 53-46 at the half.

Then the new-look starting five found its rhythm in the third quarter. They opened the third on a 23-13 run, and Edwards scored 15 points in the quarter as Minnesota was able to turn the tide and take a 77-76 lead into the final quarter of play.

"Obviously that unit struggled out of the gate, so like anything else, it’s going to take a little time," Finch said of the new-look starting lineup. "I thought they were much better in the third, found a rhythm. They did play with pace, they pushed it, even in the first half, they were trying to get it going.”

Conley looked more like himself in his first game off the bench, finishing with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and a team-best plus-minus of plus-11. DiVincenzo had 15 points and eight rebounds in his third start of the season.

Reid added 18 points off the bench, and McDaniels scored 11. Rudy Gobert had eight points and 18 boards.

Norman Powell led the Clippers with 25 points. James Harden had 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.