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[Saba Sports News] The Los Angeles Clippers delivered a head-scratching display of late-game mismanagement on Friday, reminiscent of Matt Eberflus’ infamous clock blunders.
With the Minnesota Timberwolves leading 93-92 and just over 30 seconds left in the game at Target Center, the Clippers secured a critical stop.
However, Kris Dunn lost control of the ball after grabbing the defensive rebound, handing possession back to Minnesota.
With only a two-second difference between the shot clock and game clock, the situation demanded an intentional foul to preserve time.
Even if the Timberwolves made both free throws, the Clippers would have had a chance to attempt a game-tying shot.
Instead, the Clippers inexplicably let the clock wind down. Despite Minnesota missing their initial shot, the Timberwolves secured two offensive rebounds, running out the clock and securing the win. The Clippers, much like Eberflus’ Bears a day earlier, bizarrely chose to finish the game with an unused timeout.
The misstep allowed the Timberwolves to snap their four-game losing streak and left fans questioning the Clippers’ decision-making. Interestingly, the Clippers weren’t the only team to stumble in clutch moments on Black Friday; the Las Vegas Raiders suffered an even more chaotic meltdown in their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.