Clippers beat Wolves, end winless season start

By GREG BEACHAM

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Chris Kaman had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Eric Gordon hit the go-ahead layup with 1:32 to play, and the Los Angeles Clippers surged in the fourth quarter to their first victory of the season, 93-90 over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

Gordon scored 17 points and Baron Davis had 13 points and eight assists for the Clippers, who stopped their 0-4 start and snapped a three-game home losing streak to the Timberwolves.

Rasual Butler hit four free throws in the final 19 seconds for Los Angeles, and Corey Brewer badly missed a well-guarded 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Gordon's basket in traffic put the Clippers up 88-86, and the clubs traded scores until Ryan Hollins' dunk with 13.2 seconds left trimmed Los Angeles' lead to 91-90.

The Clippers' victory and Sacramento's win over Memphis left New Jersey, Indiana and Golden State as the NBA's only remaining winless teams — and the Pacers and the Warriors have played only two games apiece.

Al Jefferson scored 24 points and Brewer had 14 for Minnesota, which never reclaimed the lead after losing it midway through a surprisingly tense fourth quarter in which neither team went ahead by more than four points.

New Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis returned to Los Angeles for the first time since leaving the NBA champion Lakers in the offseason to oversee the rebuilding project in Minnesota.

The Clippers didn't match last season's 0-6 start, and their roster seems to possess ample talent even without No. 1 draft pick Blake Griffin, who's out until at least mid-December with a broken kneecap. That talent finally was on display agianst Minnesota, led by another strong game from Kaman in the middle.

Coach Mike Dunleavy's only change after the Clippers' awful opening week was a swap in the starting lineup. Butler replaced Al Thornton, who shot poorly in the first four games.

The Clippers led by 13 points in the third quarter, but Minnesota tied it late in the period during a 14-4 run. A lead change or a tie occurred on each of the first 10 scoring plays of the fourth quarter until Davis hit a 3-pointer with 5:53 left, putting Los Angeles up 84-80.

Oleksiy Pecherov scored 13 points — just two shy of his career high — after Minnesota declined to pick up his contract option for next season earlier in the day.

Rambis, the longtime Lakers player who also briefly coached the club in 1999, had never been in Staples Center's visitors' locker room, which he pronounced "adequate," and he was taken aback by new wood paneling in the hall outside.

"It's always nice to be home," Rambis said. "Got the chance to sleep in my own bed. Got to see the sun shine."

NOTES: Before the game, Minnesota picked up options on the contracts of Brewer and forward Kevin Love, the former UCLA star who's out until December with a hand injury. ... The Timberwolves return to Staples Center to play the Clippers again in three weeks. ... Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair faced the Timberwolves for the first time since the Clippers acquired them in July in a multiplayer deal sending Quentin Richardson to Minnesota.

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November 03, 2009 01:41 AM EST

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