A much-needed break

Greetings. Youngblood here for the final time tonight.

Well, I'll make this short, primarily because there isn't a lot new here.

The Wolves played host to a Clippers team that was without guard Eric Gordon, a team that had lost consecutive games to Cleveland, Toronto and Milwaukee entering this game.

And lost.

Minnesota shot poorly, shooting less than 40 percent for the third straight game. Remember when it was defense that was the Wolves' Achilles' heel? Let me tell you, it has become pretty hard for Kevin Love to get a shot with Michael Beasley out of the mix.

You could see it again Wednesday, with the Clippers using two people to make it hard to get the ball to Love, and harder still for him to find places on the floor to get the shots he liked. In the last three games Love has averaged just over 10 shots per game. Wednesday he got 12, made six of them and got to the line enough times (6-for-18) to score 18 points.

But Love has taken quite a beating getting those points lately. Nobody will benefit more from Beasley's return than him.

Other observations from the game:

--Is there any more we can say about Blake Griffin? His 29 points weren't a surprise. But I'll tell you this: His mid-range jumper is getting better all the time. If that continues he is going to be almost impossible to stop.

--Former Wolves Randy Foye (starting in place of Gordon) and Ryan Gomes scored 21 and 18 points each. Foye hit some big shots early, and Gomes' three late thwarted a late Wolves rally.

--Luke Ridnour, back in the starting lineup with Jonny Flynn on the shelf, was 3-for-12 with three assists and three turnovers. Ugh.

--Wes Johnson continues to struggle badly. In his last four games he has hit on four of 25 shots and scored just 11 points.