Patrick Beverly of he Clippers tries to get past his defender in an NBA game in Minneapolis. | AP photo
MINNEAPOLIS — Danilo Gallinari scored 25 points and the Los Angeles Clippers clinched a playoff spot Tuesday night (Wednesday morning, Philippine time) with a 122-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Coach Doc Rivers’ club is back in the postseason after falling short last year. Los Angeles finished 42-40 last season, missing the playoffs after making it for six straight years — four under Rivers.
The Clippers (45-30) became the fifth Western Conference team to secure a postseason berth.
Lou Williams added 20 points off the bench for the Clippers, who outscored Minnesota’s reserves 53-25. Williams had 45 points the last time Los Angeles played at Target Center.
The Clippers have won six in a row, the longest active streak in the NBA, and 10 of 11 overall.
Los Angeles led by 25 before Minnesota trimmed the deficit to 104-98 in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Karl-Anthony Towns. It was the closest the Wolves had been since the first quarter.
Towns led Minnesota with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins scored 22 and Dario Saric added 18.
Montrezl Harrell helped the Clippers pull away after the Timberwolves got within single digits late in the game. Ten of his 18 points came after Minnesota made it a six-point game in the fourth quarter.
Los Angeles, which entered as the second-most accurate 3-point shooting team in the NBA, thrived from deep. The Clippers shot 16 for 32 from downtown. Gallinari hit a team-high six 3s, which matched his season high.
Minnesota was once again short-handed, as several key players — including Derrick Rose, Robert Covington and Jeff Teague — have been shut down for the remainder of the season.
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