The Los Angeles Clippers narrowly took down Western Conference toppers Minnesota Timberwolves led by Kawhi Leonard.

Clippers star man Leonard dropped 32 points, five rebounds and four assists in a hard fought victory for his side.

Norman Powell was excellent off the bench for LA, providing 24 points and three rebounds as well as making six threes on eight attempts.

Anthony Edwards led the way for Minnesota, netting 27 points and grabbing five boards in the home defeat.

  • Story of the game

After three minutes, Minnesota found themselves up nine to nothing as they showed some excellent early defence to keep LA out.

A few minutes later Jaden McDaniels drove down the baseline and met Ivica Zubac at the rim for a showtime dunk.

Halfway through the first, Karl Anthony-Towns made his fifth field goal on as many attempts to give the Timberwolves a 14 point lead.

In yet another highlight play, Rudy Gobert caught Kyle Anderson's lob and threw it down over Daniel Theis with two minutes on the clock.

<strong><a  data-cke-saved-href='https://www.vavel.com/en-us/nba/2024/02/10/1171978-grading-the-charlotte-hornets-trade-deadline.html' href='https://www.vavel.com/en-us/nba/2024/02/10/1171978-grading-the-charlotte-hornets-trade-deadline.html'>Rudy Gobert</a></strong> throws it down (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Rudy Gobert throws it down (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

Despite Powell's tough turnaround three at the buzzer, the Clippers trailed 18-30 after an impressive start from Minnesota.

Powell continued his hot start into the second quarter, draining his fourth three pointer on five attempts.

The Clippers managed to erase what was a 16 point deficit with Paul George's triple putting them up by one after three minutes in the second.

The two sides traded blows with the lead changing hands several times in a very competitive quarter.

Norman Powell pulls up from three point range (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Norman Powell pulls up from three point range (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

With three minutes until half time James Harden found Leonard with a dime and the Claw threw it down to tie the game at 43-43.

LA's much improved defence allowed them to edge the hosts heading into the interval with the score reading 49-46.

It was more of the same in the opening stages of the penultimate quarter with both sides battling for the lead, but the Clippers led by a single point four minutes in.

Two minutes later, Terance Mann's mid range effort dropped through the nylon to put LA up by five.

The Clippers' big three (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Clippers' big three (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

Since shooting 5/5 from the field, Wolves big man KAT shot 0/5 and went quiet since his impressive first quarter.

Minnesota thought they'd be four points up heading into the final break after Nickeil Alexander-Walker's cutting dunk left four seconds on the clock.

But Powell answered at the other end with a huge three pointer to bring the Clippers within one once again.

Two minutes into the final 12 Naz Reid charged down towards the bucket and threw it down with force but the basket was chalked off due to a foul in the build up.

Naz Reid attacks the rim (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)
Naz Reid attacks the rim (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)

Monte Morris' first shot and first bucket came at a crucial moment as his three pointer gave the Timberwolves a four point advantage with nine minutes to go.

Two minutes later George and Morris traded tough back to back threes with Minnesota still only just ahead.

With 4:43 on the clock, Powell drilled his sixth three of the game to give his side a four point lead.

As the final whistle approached McDaniels put his defender on a poster following a clever pass from Gobert to tie game at 84-84.

Kawhi Leonard protects the ball from Jaden McDaniels (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
Kawhi Leonard protects the ball from Jaden McDaniels (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Leonard finished through KAT's contact at the rim and converted his free throw to put LA up 87-86 with two minutes to go, with these points proving vital in the end.

The Timberwolves couldn't get a foul right at the end and the Clippers closed out the victory in Minnesota.