Lance Stephenson/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

– Lance Stephenson’s play in nearly 20 minutes off the bench was noteworthy. He scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds, doled out three assists and made one steal. He also brought with him incredible energy.

– It was interesting to see that after starting at small forward the previous three games, not only did Wesley Johnson not start, he saw only four minutes and 12 seconds of action off the bench and did not score. Doc Rivers said Johnson needs to play better on defense.

– Speaking of defense, Luc Mbah a Moute started at small forward because Rivers said the team needed that for this particular game. He ended up scoring seven points, and made a big steal down the stretch during an 8-0 run that all but sealed Minnesota’s fate.

– The Clippers committed 13 turnovers, but just three of those came in the second half. Point guard Chris Paul had four of those turnovers and power forward Blake Griffin had three. They also led the team with a combined 46 points – Griffin scoring 26, Paul 20. Griffin also had eight rebounds, eight assists and two blocks. Paul also had nine assists and went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. Enough said.

– Don’t sleep on the Timberwolves. They may not make the top eight in the Western Conference this season, and yet they could. But over the next few seasons, they could be very good. With a core of rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns, second-year shooting guard Andrew Wiggins and second-year point guard Zach LaVine, they have a bright future.