Los Angeles @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 11, 2019 ) L.A. Clippers 120, Minnesota 130

The battle for positioning in the Western Conference is tight as the final two weeks of the regular season loom, and the Los Angeles Clippers are doing everything they can to ensure they emerge from the pack with the best possible seed. The Clippers will go for their sixth straight win and 12th in 13 games when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

Los Angeles still has a shot at the third or fourth spot in the West, but the real race is the four-way battle for the No. 5 spot, with the Clippers holding a half-game advantage over Oklahoma City and Utah entering play on Monday. Los Angeles struggled a bit on the first stop of the four-game road trip, edging the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-108, but breezed past the New York Knicks 124-113 on Sunday afternoon and will visit the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks to finish the excursion after finishing up with Minnesota. The Timberwolves are eliminated from the postseason race but snapped a five-game slide with a 112-99 win at Memphis on Saturday behind 33 points and 23 rebounds from All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns. "Even though we're mathematically out, you got to play for the playoffs for next year," Towns told reporters. "The building starts right now. We've got to get our culture right. We've got to get our defense right. We've got to get our identity right. We don't have to wait until next year in training camp to get started. We can start that right now. There's no better time."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), FS North (Minnesota)

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (44-30): Los Angeles guard Lou Williams is closing in on another Sixth Man of the Year Award and showed off his clutch abilities while scoring the bulk of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to help put away the Knicks on Sunday. The Clippers' bench is a big reason for the team's success, and power forward Montrezl Harrell joined Williams with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting in New York. Harrell is averaging 20.9 points over his last seven games and recorded three double-doubles in that span.

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (33-40): Towns is sprinting to the finish despite Minnesota's place in the standings and recorded his seventh consecutive double-double on Saturday while collecting at least 25 points and 20 rebounds for the second time in the last three contests. Towns is the centerpiece of the rebuilding effort while fellow former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins is trying to prove his place among the game's elite and scored 20 or more points in each of the last three contests. Wiggins is still working on his long-range shooting and is 3-of-14 from beyond the arc in the last three contests.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Timberwolves rookie SG Josh Okogie is averaging 16.8 points over the last four games - nearly twice his season average of 8.5.

2. Clippers SF Danilo Gallinari scored 20 or more points in each of his last nine games.

3. Los Angeles suffered a 130-120 loss at Minnesota on Feb. 11 despite 45 points from Williams.

PREDICTION: Clippers 120, Timberwolves 111