Crawford, Griffin lead Clippers past Timberwolves 90-77

The Los Angeles Clippers got an early lead and never looked back, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 90-77, on Thursday night. It wasn't the Clippers' most efficient game as they turned over the ball 18 times and let the Wolves gain an advantage in the fast break, but it was enough. Jamal Crawfordscored 22 off the bench for Los Angeles and Blake Griffin added 20 points.

Losers of five straight, Minnesota continues to lose more than games. With Kevin Love, Chase Budinger, Malcolm Lee, and Brandon Roy already out with injuries, Minnesota lost two more players in this game.Nikola Pekovic suffered a left quad contusion and left the court with 3:39 to play in the third quarter after getting tangled up with Griffin on an attempted lob. And Alexey Shved left the game with 5:40 to play in the game with a sprained ankle. Both were unable to return and both are expected to be unavailable for practice tomorrow. Luke Ridnour scored a season-high 21 points for Minnesota.