LOS ANGELES — The question facing the Timberwolves entering Saturday's game against the Clippers was how big would their hangover be a night after beating the Lakers.
This Wolves group has notoriously gotten too high on its own success, and had just 24 hours to come down from a convincing win over the other tenants at Staples Center.
The hangover was a serious one in a 129-102 loss that wasn't close after Los Angeles blew it open with a dominant 38-17 second quarter.
They were playing for the second time in consecutive nights, but the Wolves didn't have to travel, and they didn't have to game plan too much for their opponent, which they faced twice at Target Center just last week.
"Could be just not ready to play for whatever reasons," coach Chris Finch said. "It looked like we were out there performing, not really competing."
The Wolves could have played well and not won Saturday against a good Clippers team, but they didn't have to lose playing as badly as they did. That much was in their control.
For the third time this season, the Clippers left the Wolves with a lot of questions after another loss. The Wolves have shown some resolve when faced with steep deficits previously this season. This wasn't one of those nights.
The Wolves also continued a cycle they can't seem to break dating back to last season. They play well in a game, talk about how they need to play like that all the time, only to come out and fall flat most times in the next game. Then it can take them a few more to find the necessary focus for 48 minutes to win another one. Rinse and repeat.