Timberwolves Beat Clippers 127-101 Without Edwards, Head to San Antonio on a Back-to-Back

The Minnesota Timberwolves did not need Anthony Edwards to handle the LA Clippers on Friday night. Minnesota won 127-101 at Target Center in an NBA Cup game, ended a two-game losing streak and moved to 4-2 on the season.

Jaden McDaniels did the most to fill the gap Edwards left. He scored 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting and added six rebounds and seven assists, Canis Hoopus of SB Nation reported. His drives repeatedly pulled the Clippers defense out of position and opened shots for his teammates. Bones Hyland added 20 points and eight assists on 8-of-16 shooting off the bench. LaMelo Ball shook off a slow start to go 9-of-20, including 6-of-15 from three.

Rudy Gobert also bounced back. He had a rough game in Tuesday's five-point loss to Golden State, and against the Clippers he finished with nine points, 13 rebounds and four assists while controlling the paint on defense. Canis Hoopus noted that Gobert and Ball are still working out their timing in the pick-and-roll, with Ball's quick passes sometimes arriving faster than Gobert is ready for them. Jaylen Clark was plus-23 in 17 minutes. Trey Lyles kept earning more minutes than many expected before the season. Jonathan Kuminga was the quiet one, with five points on six shots in 22 minutes.

Because point differential counts as a tiebreaker in NBA Cup group play, Chris Finch kept his regulars on the floor late even after the Clippers stopped competing. Every point of the 26-point margin could help in the group standings.

The win gets Minnesota back on track after a tough week. Before Friday, the Wolves had lost 127-125 at Cleveland and 119-114 to Golden State, after opening the season 3-0 with wins at Miami, at Orlando and at home against Toronto by a combined 70 points.

What it means for Saturday in San Antonio

The schedule gets harder right away. Minnesota plays the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday at San Antonio, with tipoff at 7 p.m. Central, and Edwards is still out. Ball, McDaniels and Gobert played heavy minutes against the Clippers because of the Cup tiebreaker, so fatigue could matter on the road less than 24 hours later.

The market expects a lopsided game. The Spurs are heavily favored. On Novig, San Antonio is -525 on the moneyline and Minnesota is +506. The best price on the Spurs across the 12 venues on this site's board is -480 at BetRivers. The spread shows a similar gap. Novig has San Antonio favored by 12.5 at +102, while BetRivers lists the Spurs at -11.5 for -106. Sportsbook hold on the spread runs from 3.0% to 4.9%, and on the moneyline from 3.9% to 5.6%.

Novig's total is 226.5, with the over at -104 and the under at -102. Hard Rock Bet is a point higher at 227.5 and charges -115 on the under. The Wolves have scored at least 114 points in every game so far, so that number depends heavily on how much the Wolves have left on short rest.

If the Wolves are going to keep it closer than the market expects, they will likely need McDaniels to create offense the way he did Friday and the bench to provide another lift. Follow the rest of the season on our Timberwolves team page.