Ivica Zubac on Timberwolves: "We can't wait to see them again"

Last Friday evening featured the LA Clippers' only loss of the last two weeks to a team not named the Boston Celtics. That loss of course came to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who ended their four-game losing streak against Los Angeles.

It was an excellent response from the Wolves with their backs against the wall. No, this was not an elimination game in the playoffs, but it certainly felt like Minnesota's pride was on the line. After Anthony Edwards called his team "soft" and said that it felt like playing with a bunch of little kids, the Timberwolves needed a strong answer against a capable and talented team.

They put together just that kind of response in their win over the Clippers. Struggling in clutch situations over the course of several prior games, the Timberwolves reversed that trend and came up with a timely stop in the closing seconds to earn their 93-92 win over a team that has far outdone expectations without their best player.

It was a landmark win for Minnesota, given all the surrounding circumstances. After the game, Clippers center Ivica Zubac spoke on his team's loss, saying that he thought LA should have won the contest.

Zubac says Clippers "should have won" against Timberwolves

"We're mad," said the Clippers' center. "We think we should have won this game. We thought we played well enough to win it. And we can't wait to see them again." Zubac is not necessarily wrong here. LA shot a higher field goal percentage and took nine more attempts from the floor than Minnesota, which means they had plenty of chances to produce enough points to outscore their opposition. They also finished +9 on the steal margin, and +7 on the turnover margin.

It was the little things and the intangibles where Minnesota won this game. The last play of the contest is a great example, where the Clippers simply could not get a rebound, and could not foul the Timberwolves in time to extend the game.

This brings some added drama to the next Timberwolves-Clippers matchup, which is set to take place on Wednesday night in Los Angeles. Minnesota will travel to Southern California to play their first ever game at the brand new Intuit Dome.

It is always exciting when some extra motivation can be injected into some of these regular season games. Minnesota earned one of their biggest moments of the young season against LA, and both teams will be determined to take home a victory for different reasons on Wednesday.