James Harden reaches milestone in Clippers’ loss to Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS — James Harden reached another milestone, but the Clippers found themselves on the wrong end of another close game.

Naz Reid made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 13.5 seconds remaining, Jaden McDaniels scored 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Clippers, 109-106, on Saturday night.

Julius Randle added 24 points for Minnesota (15-8), which won its season-high fifth straight game. Reid’s big shot capped a 19-point night off the bench, including 5-for-8 shooting from 3-point range. McDaniels then made two free throws with 4.8 seconds left and the Timberwolves held on.

Harden led the Clippers with 34 points on 10-of-18 shooting and moved into 10th on the NBA’s career scoring list. He surpassed Carmelo Anthony (28,289 points) with a pair of free throws in the third quarter. He missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Kawhi Leonard added 20 points while Ivica Zubac had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers (6-18), who have lost seven of eight and 10 of their past 12 games.

The score was even at 102-all with 1:06 remaining after Zubac converted a three-point play.

Mike Conley made two free throws to put the Timberwolves on top 104-102 with 52.5 seconds left.

Bogdan Bogdanovic answered with a step-back jumper to make it 104-all with 31.2 seconds left.

Reid drained the decisive basket when he took a pass from Edwards and made a 3-pointer. That put the Timberwolves ahead 107-104 with 13.5 seconds remaining.

Harden made a basket to cut the deficit to 107-106 with 7.5 seconds left.

McDaniels made his two free throws on the next possession to increase Minnesota’s lead to three points before Harden missed his 3-point attempt in the final seconds.

Minnesota entered with the fourth-best 3-point percentage in the NBA (38.7%) but was just 2 for 10 behind the arc before halftime.

That changed in the second half, when McDaniels made three 3-pointers to help Minnesota dig out from an 18-point deficit. The Wolves finished 11 for 25 from deep and outscored the Clippers 67-50 in the second half.

Harden closed out the first half with four straight points. Rudy Gobert was called for a flagrant foul after landing under Harden’s feet on a 3-point attempt. Harden made two free throws and later made another basket in the closing seconds to finish the half with 19 points.

Minnesota star Anthony Edwards scored 15 despite shooting 3 for 11 from the field.

The Timberwolves trailed 78-72 at the end of the third quarter. Jaylen Clark trimmed the deficit to six for Minnesota when he converted a three-point play with 42.1 seconds remaining.

The Clippers led 56-42 at the half. Harden had 19 points at the break to lead all scorers.

The Clippers sprinted to a 34-22 advantage after the first quarter.

UP NEXT

The Clippers can head home for a few days before a game on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Houston.