Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 things to continue and 3 things to change in Clippers rematch

What didn’t work: Basically any member of the Minnesota Timberwolves defending Paul George

George has been on an absolute tear to start the season as the Clippers’ unquestioned leader with Kawhi Leonard out, and that did not change on Wednesday.

George went for 32 points, six rebounds and eight assists on 11-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-8 from downtown. He gave virtually everyone who defended him fits with his silky isolation pull-up game, making tough shots throughout the contest

And he was absolutely aware of how hot he was.

The Timberwolves did well to harass George into eight turnovers but only scored seven points on those opportunities. Capitalizing on the chances George does give will be paramount tonight, because Minnesota can’t just rely on his shooting slowing down.

What did work for the Minnesota Timberwolves: Josh Okogie defending Paul George

Okogie got the start in part to spend some time on George, and was the primary defender on him for the majority of his 10:51 on the court.

Against Okogie, George shot 1-of-3 (all from behind the arc), scored six points and had one assist and one turnover. Against everyone else, George scored 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting, 3-of-5 from three, and added seven assists and seven turnovers.

The point here is not that Okogie’s stats are so incredible against George — he made a big mistake by fouling George on a late-clock 3-pointer — but that he was more effective than anyone at limiting George’s impact on the game. Okogie was in at the start of each half, and those were times when George wasn’t making a ton of plays.

Reggie Jackson, Nicolas Batum and Terance Mann all had great games Wednesday, but George was still the driver of the offense. If Okogie gets more minutes to keep George in check, Minnesota will force one of those three to beat them, a much better proposition than challenging George to do so.