Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Clippers
When: 10:30 PM  ET, Thursday, January 19, 2017
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
PREDICTION: Clippers 109, Timberwolves 105

Oddsmakers currently have the LA CLIPPERS listed as -1 point favorites versus the MINNESOTA, while the game’s total is sitting at 207.5.

LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul underwent successful surgery Wednesday to repair torn ligaments in his left thumb, but the prognosis for the Los Angeles Clippers isn’t as promising.

The damage the absence of the Los Angeles Clippers standout point guard won’t be known for the next 6-to-8 weeks — the amount of time Paul is expected to be sidelined — but the challenge will be significant.

In the meantime, the Clippers (29-14) begin their journey without Paul and another contest without injured forward Blake Griffin (right knee surgery) when they meet the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night at Staples Center.

The Clippers are saying all of the right things. Coach Doc Rivers, in typical coach-speak, said other players must step up.

“We still have new guys — Alan (Anderson) is new and Raymond (Felton) is new and Mo (Speights) and Brandon (Bass) — this is a good opportunity for them to learn how to execute together,” Rivers told the Los Angeles Times. “When everyone is back, when you get Chris and Blake back, if this group can execute, and then you put those two guys back on the floor, I think it makes us better in the long run. This is not the way you want to do it, but this is the way it’s been presented.”

The Clippers’ presentation will be tested almost immediately. After the Minnesota game, Los Angeles plays 10 of its next 11 on the road. They could get Griffin back for some of that stretch, with his return being anticipated before the end of the month.

For now, the Clippers will depend on Austin Rivers and Felton to fill the void of Paul, who was averaging 17.5 points, 9.7 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.25 steals, the latter tops in the NBA.

The Timberwolves (14-28) are hoping to take advantage of Paul missing in action. However, the Clippers owned Minnesota in recent times, winning 16 of the last 17 matchups. The Timberwolves ended a four-year drought last season by beating the Clippers at Staples in February 2016.

In their initial meeting this season, the Clippers prevailed 119-105 at the Target Center on Nov. 12.

The Timberwolves were expected to be one of the up-and-coming clubs this season with their array of young talent and the addition of defensive-minded coach Tom Thibodeau, a close friend and former assistant to Rivers in Boston.

Instead, the Timberwolves have struggled mightily for much of the campaign. They lost their last two games on the road against the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks and are 3-6 in their last nine outings.

Second-year center Karl Anthony-Towns remains one of the game’s top players, averaging 22 points and 12 rebounds. Towns is shooting 49 percent from the floor.

The Timberwolves also receive solid production from forward Andrew Wiggins (21.6 points) and Zach LaVine (20.1).

But inconsistency has plagued them. Turnovers — Minnesota was tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for 21st in the league heading into Wednesday’s slate of games — remain a problem. The Spurs cashed in 22 points on Timberwolves’ miscues compared to only two points for Minnesota.

“If you’re going to win on the road, you have to take care of the ball,” Thibodeau told the Star-Tribune.

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Oklahoma City Thunder vs Minnesota Timberwolves
When: 8:00 PM  ET, Friday, January 13, 2017
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Oklahoma, FSN North (Minnesota)
PREDICTION: Thunder 114, Timberwolves 107

MINNEAPOLIS — A tough four-game homestand for the Minnesota Timberwolves included the defensive-minded Utah Jazz, followed by a slight reprieve against the Dallas Mavericks before Minnesota was scheduled to host the top triple-double men in the NBA, James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

The Timberwolves kept Harden from a triple-double and, most importantly, beat the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. On Friday they will host Oklahoma City and Westbrook for the first time this season.

Minnesota hopes it can take what it learned against Harden and the Rockets and apply it Friday. The Timberwolves let a lead slip away against Houston before recovering and extending the advantage in the fourth quarter.

“We learned from our mistakes,” Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns said. “We did a great job of staying disciplined. It was just a great game. Games like this, I can finally smile again. It was good to see us get the lead and keep building on it.”

Towns posted his ninth straight double-double with 23 points and 18 rebounds. Ricky Rubio had 10 points and tied his career high and a franchise best with 17 assists. His steady play has helped the Timberwolves (13-26) maintain composure in the second half in back-to-back wins.

Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points for Minnesota and took the defensive responsibility against Harden, who had 33 points, six rebounds and 12 assists. In defending Harden, the Timberwolves might have a blueprint for trying to limit Westbrook.

“I thought overall, you’re not going to be able to stop a guy like that, you have to make him work and I thought our guys did that,” Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said about defending Harden. “Wiggins battled him the whole night and I thought him and Karl set the tone for us, and I thought they played very unselfishly.”

Rubio will likely draw the assignment on Westbrook, who had his 18th triple-double on Wednesday in a win against Memphis. Westbrook tallied 24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. His 18 triple-doubles are the most by any player since Magic Johnson during the 1981-82 season.

“I just read the game,” Westbrook said. “You have to read it. Make plays and take what the defense gives you.”

Westbrook has led the Thunder (24-16) to two wins against Minnesota this season in Oklahoma City. He had 28 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals in a 112-92 victory in November and followed with 31 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds in a 112-100 win on Christmas Day.

As big in those games was the play of reserve Enes Kanter. He averaged 20 points and seven rebounds in the two games. Kanter has become a valuable player for the Thunder, who have won three straight games. Kanter had 19 points and 13 rebounds on Wednesday.

“He’s made a lot of strides,” Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said. “He’s done a better job. I think the one thing I’ve tried to discuss with Enes, you never want to get into a situation where you are taken off the floor because of your defense.”

The Timberwolves could be without starting shooting guard Zach LaVine for a second straight game. He is listed as questionable with a left hip contusion. LaVine leads the NBA in minutes per game and is averaging 20.4 points per game.

Without LaVine on Wednesday, Brandon Rush started and contributed a season-high 12 points on four 3-pointers, and had three steals and two blocks. Shabazz Muhammad added 20 points off the bench.

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Houston Rockets vs Minnesota Timberwolves
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ROOT (Houston), FSN North (Minnesota)
PREDICTION: Rockets 121, Timberwolves 111

MINNEAPOLIS — In a season full of second-half collapses, perhaps not one sticks out more for the Minnesota Timberwolves than the 111-109 overtime home loss to the Houston Rockets in December.

Minnesota, which has 12 losses this season when leading by double-digits, led by 12 points with 2:19 left in the game. Then, Houston forwards Ryan Anderson and Trevor Ariza each hit two 3-pointers as the Rockets closed regulation on a 14-2 run.

James Harden scored 10 of his 28 points in overtime and Houston stayed near the top of the Western Conference while burying the Timberwolves further down the standings.

The two teams meet again in Minnesota on Wednesday.

The Rockets (31-9) are still riding high after beating the Charlotte Hornets 121-114 on Tuesday night in Houston. Harden scored 40 points with 15 rebounds and 10 assists to become just the third player since the 1985-86 season to record back-to-back games with a triple-double and 40 points, according to STATS, LLC.

“Most important thing is winning and it’s been a total turnaround from last year to this year,” Harden said after Tuesday’s game. “Winning and good things will come, individual stats.”

The Timberwolves (12-26) are still trying to find their way and keep from slipping in the second half of games. Minnesota saw a 21-point lead vanish at home against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday but never relinquished the lead and won 101-92 to snap a four-game losing streak.

The December game is still fresh in the minds of the Timberwolves.

“I mean, I’ve learned from that game,” Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns told the team’s website on Tuesday. “We’ve all learned. Just going to go there, go into tomorrow with a certain energy, a certain passion, a certain excitement and we have to go out there and execute. And again, everything goes back to our discipline. If we’re disciplined for four straight quarters, not many teams in this league can beat us.”

The Timberwolves seemingly had one of the top teams in the West on the ropes, before Houston finished strong.

The Rockets, as they did in December, head to Minnesota with a nine-game winning streak.

“I definitely didn’t know we’d be here,” Houston coach Mike D’Antoni said after Tuesday’s win. “The first 20 games, we thought we could be 11-9 and we’d be happy. So, we’re plus 19 on that one. I just like the way we’re playing. I like their energy and I think the defense is getting better.”

D’Antoni said guard Eric Gordon, who scored 20 points with six rebounds and four assists in the previous meeting, won’t travel with the team to Minnesota. Gordon is dealing with a toe injury.

The Timberwolves could also be without one of their top scorers in guard Zach LaVine.

LaVine left Monday’s game with a hip contusion and is listed as questionable. LaVine scored 24 points in the previous matchup with the Rockets and is 31st in the league in scoring at 20.4 points per game.

“It was a weird play that he got bumped on,” coach Tom Thibodeau told the team’s website after Tuesday’s practice. “But he’ll be OK.”

Tyus Jones entered Monday when LaVine left the game and scored seven points in 11 minutes. The little-used, second-year guard could see more playing time if LaVine is out.

“You’ve got to take advantage of your opportunity,” Jones said after Monday’s game. “It’s next guy up. Zach went down and there can’t be a fall off. If Coach calls, you’ve got to be ready to go in and pick up where Zach left off. Just trying to make sure I can do anything to help the team pull out a ‘W’ tonight.”

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Utah Jazz vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 7, 2017
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), FSN North (Minnesota)
PREDICTION: Jazz 109, Timberwolves 107

Oddsmakers currently have the Jazz listed as 4-point favorites versus the Timberwolves, while the game’s total is sitting at 195.

It would seem as if a 41-point night from guard Andrew Wiggins would translate to a win for the Minnesota Timberwolves. On Friday night against Washington, though, that wasn’t the case.

Wiggins posted his second 40-point game of the season by scoring 41 against the Wizards. But as Minnesota squandered a lead after three quarters, Wiggins’ big night became irrelevant.

“We’re finding different ways to (lose),” Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau told the Timberwolves Radio Network after Friday’s loss. “It’s disappointing.”

The loss in Washington, D.C., came two days after the Timberwolves suffered one of their biggest gut punches of the season.

Minnesota managed to fall behind the Philadelphia 76ers by 26 points before clawing its way back. A 3-pointer by Ricky Rubio in the final seconds seemed to guarantee overtime, but Philadelphia scored with under a second remaining to deal the Timberwolves yet another disappointing finish.

Minnesota (11-25) will now try to bounce back from its unsuccessful road trip by welcoming the Utah Jazz (22-15) on Saturday for a game at Target Center. It’s the second time the teams have met, with Utah winning the previous matchup 112-103 at Target Center.

Utah, which allows the fewest points per game in the NBA (95.3), is on a small losing streak of its own. The Jazz have dropped their last two games — both on the road — to the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors.

In Thursday’s loss, Utah’s typically stingy defense allowed Kyle Lowry to score 33 points en route to the Raptors’ 101-93 win in Toronto. DeMar DeRozan added 23 for the Raptors.

“We weren’t physical enough and it hurt us,” Utah coach Quin Snyder told the Salt Lake Tribune after the game. “We just got beat.”

Though Utah lost on Thursday, the Jazz did see the return of point guard Dante Exum, who missed the previous two weeks with tendinitis. Exum did not play in Utah’s first game against Minnesota but now gives the Jazz a bit of backcourt depth now that he’s healthy again.

“It’s just a sharp pain whenever I run or jump,” Exum told the Salt Lake Tribune. “So it was definitely limiting me playing to my full potential. That’s why I had to make the decision.”

Minnesota’s bench remains a question mark for Saturday. Guard Shabazz Muhammad missed Friday’s game because of illness, and his status for Saturday is uncertain.

Though Utah isn’t a high-scoring team — the Jazz average 99.0 points per game, third fewest in the Western Conference — Minnesota’s defense has struggled as of late. Such was the case Friday for the Timberwolves, who surrendered 112 points to the Wizards.

Thibodeau knows his team will have to be much better defensively in the second game of a back-to-back.

“The discipline, the intensity, the finishing of the defense, there’s a lot of closeouts where we were two steps in and then we don’t challenge the shot correctly,” Thibodeau told the Timberwolves Radio Network. “If you let a guy shoot, he’s going to get rhythm.”

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Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Washington Wizards
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, January 6, 2017
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District of Columbia

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
PREDICTION: Wizards 112, Timberwolves 105

WASHINGTON — The Washington Wizards ended 2016 rolling but started 2017 running uphill, which is the direction the young Minnesota Timberwolves traveled most of the season as the teams meet Friday.

The Wizards (16-18) won nine of 12 games to reach. 500, but lost their chance for a winning record with a 101-91 loss at the Houston Rockets Monday night. Falling to one of the top NBA teams on the road is one thing. Losing 113-105 to a 10-win Dallas Mavericks team as they did the following night is something else.

“Well, I thought we got outworked, and I haven’t said that a lot this year with our team,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said.

Dallas shot 17 of 32 from beyond the 3-point arc and outscored Washington 26-17 in the fourth quarter.

“They were moving the ball, and we were hoping that they would miss, and not doing a very good job of making them miss,” Brooks said.

Guards John Wall, who was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December, and Bradley Beal combined for 52 points. Washington returns home where its won eight in a row hoping the clumsy Texas two-step doesn’t derail any overall growth.

“No not at all, definitely a learning experience,” reserve forward Kelly Oubre Jr. said. “Gotta come back and play harder, smarter, and get back to what we were doing in 2016. It’s just two games, we’ll get back on track. We have a two game home stand, all the momentum will come back once we get home.”

The Timberwolves (11-24) aim for a win away from home after falling 93-91 at the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night. The young squad’s latest setback came in the closing moments as Robert Covington’s jumper off an inbounds pass with 0.2 seconds remaining gave the 76ers the win.

“We wanted the ball to go away from the basket. That didn’t happen,” Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We needed some help on the curl, and we didn’t get it.”

Minnesota dropped five of its last seven games.

Zach LaVine scored 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 against Philadelphia, but they didn’t get much help from leading scorer Andrew Wiggins. The small forward had eight points — 13 below his average — on 2 of 15 shooting.

Both teams have electric perimeter players, but also threats inside. Wizards center Marcin Gortat (12.0) and Towns (11.6) rank among the top 10 in rebounding.

Minnesota’s starters play more minutes than any team in the league followed by Washington.

Both teams won on the road in this series last season with Minnesota claiming a 132-129 victory in double-overtime on March 25 as Towns scored 27 points.

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Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Toronto Raptors
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 8, 2016
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario

TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT, Sportsnet (Toronto)
PREDICTION: Raptors 112, Timberwolves 103

Oddsmakers currently have the Raptors listed as 8-point favorites versus the Timberwolves, while the game’s total has not yet been posted.

TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors and the Minnesota Timberwolves are coming off losses to two of the NBA’s powerhouses.

The Raptors lost 116-112 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday and the Timberwolves lost 105-91 to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.

Minnesota and Toronto play Thursday night at the Air Canada Centre.

The Raptors (14-7) hope to finish a six-game homestand with a win, which would give them a 5-1 record during that span as well as seven wins in their past eight games overall.

The Wolves (6-15) will try to prevent the kind of second-half fade they had against the Spurs.

The Timberwolves led after the first half against the Spurs but were outscored 29-18 in the third quarter as they failed to carry their first-half defense into the second half.

Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau approved of the way his team played in the first half. The Timberwolves held the Spurs to a season-low 19 points in the first quarter.

“I thought our shell was tight, I thought we challenged shots well, I thought we got back in transition well,” Thibodeau said. “(In the third quarter) we just got outplayed in every aspect. …

“In the second half, you have to have discipline. You have to stick with your team, you have to understand what your job is, then you have to do your job. When you randomly make it up, the results aren’t going to be good. That’s where we need to grow and improve.”

One bright spot from Tuesday for Minnesota was the play of rookie point guard Kris Dunn, who came off the bench to score 15 points in 17 minutes on 6-for-7 shooting.

“Kris is playing really well,” Thibodeau said. “It’s a good sign.”

The Raptors had their six-game winning streak stopped by the Cavaliers, who have defeated Toronto in their three games this season. The NBA champions defeated the Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals last season.

Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry took an elbow to the face during the first quarter on Monday and required treatment but returned before the opening stanza had been completed and scored 24 points and had nine assists.

Raptors coach Dwane Casey talked about the mental part of the game after the loss.

“I thought our guys competed,” Casey said. “But now we have to put the mental part within the game.”

Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas scored four points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Cavaliers but struggled enough that he did not play the fourth quarter with his backup, Lucas Nogueira, playing only four minutes and Patrick Patterson and Terrene Ross each playing the full 12 minutes.

Starting power forward Pascal Siakam also did not play in the fourth quarter.

In the past five games, Valanciunas has averaged six points and 7.4 rebounds.

“Jonas is fine,” Casey said. “It’s a matchup league.

“I thought Lucas did a little bit better job of guarding (Channing) Frye, which is a hard matchup for any (center) in the league, not just Jonas and Lucas. He’s really a four playing the five and that’s why we decided to go small, that kind of got us going a little bit toward the end but, again, you give up something.”

The Raptors are 8-4 at home. The Timberwolves are 3-8 on the road.

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MINNESOTA vs CHARLOTTE
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 3, 2016
Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
PREDICTION: Hornets 111, Timberwolves 102

The Charlotte Hornets are hoping to continue surging against the floundering Minnesota Timberwolves when the two teams square off Saturday at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.

After a four-game losing streak ended a week ago, the Hornets have won three of their last four games to boost their record to 11-8. Charlotte is in the midst of a stretch in which it plays five of six games at home — and seemed to have found some flash from 7-2 center Roy Hibbert in a 97-87 victory over Dallas on Thursday.

Hibbert hit 5-of-7 attempts for 11 points against the Mavericks with four rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes. He missed five games at the start of the season for right knee soreness, but Hornets coach Steve Clifford called his performance against Dallas one of his top two outings of the season.

“I’m not 100 percent yet, but I’m getting there,” Hibbert told reporters after the Dallas victory. “It’s come slower than I would have liked, but it’s a long season.”

While Hibbert continues to work out kinks, the Hornets have continued to rely most upon Kemba Walker. The point guard hit two 3-pointers in the final four minutes to help seal the triumph over the Mavericks.

Walker leads Charlotte with 23.9 points per game, and his average of 24.4 points per game in November set a franchise record for that month.

Forward Marvin Williams has missed the last four games with a hyperextended left knee, and is expected to be out until next week, Clifford said.

The Timberwolves, meanwhile, are hoping to bounce back from back-to-back losses to the New York Knicks. In all, Minnesota has lost its last four games, and seven of the last eight games. They dropped to 5-14 with Friday’s loss.

Zach LaVine led the Wolves with 23 points in their 118-114 loss to the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns added 20 points while Andrew Wiggins chipped in 19.

“The thing about them is they have so many talented scorers who can have big nights,” Hornets center Cody Zeller said. “We have to come out and play defense right from the start and not really let them get into a flow.”

Minnesota will be trying to snap its losing streak on the second night of a back-to-back. The Timberwolves are 2-1 in such games this season.

A hopeful spot of late was Towns’ performance Wednesday in a 106-104 loss to the Knicks. The 7-foot center had 47 points and 18 rebounds in the loss, numbers that set historic marks.

Since 1963-64, only three players have scored 47 points or more at a younger age than the 21-year-old Towns — Brandon Jennings, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. He also joined Kevin Garnett and Kevin Love as the only other Wolves to have a game with at last 45 points and 15 rebounds.

“It was a monster game,” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. “It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t pull out the win.”

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The Wolves announced the appointment of Kander as vice president of sports performance on Monday. Kander spent 23 seasons with the Pistons and carved out a reputation as one of the most-respected physical therapists in the league.

He got to know Timberwolves president and coach Flip Saunders during Saunders’ coaching tenure in Detroit. Saunders is currently on leave from the Wolves while battling Hodgkin lymphoma.

In Minnesota, Kander will be in charge of improving the health of a team that has struggled with injuries in recent seasons. Last season Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic, Kevin Martin, Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng all missed big chunks of time as the team posted the worst record in the league.

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The Timberwolves confirmed assistant Sam Mitchell will take over as interim coach for Saunders, who is also the president of basketball operations. General manager Milt Newton’s responsibilities overseeing the roster also will expand with the absence of the 60-year-old Saunders, who was diagnosed this summer with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Timberwolves chief executive officer Rob Moor, citing the desire for privacy for Saunders and his family, declined to speak specifically about Saunders’ condition during a news conference Friday at team headquarters. In a news release, the Timberwolves said Saunders recently experienced complications from his completed chemotherapy treatments.

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The Timberwolves made the announcement on Sunday morning. They host the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. The freebies courtesy of the 15-time All-Star power forward will be available on the team’s website on Monday morning. The first 500 fans to claim them will get a pair of seats.

Garnett said in a statement distributed by the team that the response and support he’s received since the Wolves reacquired him in a trade ”has been nothing short of amazing” and ”unbelievable.”

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