While they wait for Blake, Clippers without Paul Pierce tonight

The Clippers arrived at Target Center today for their final visit this season without veteran forward Paul Pierce, who did not make a quick two-game trip to Minnesota tonight against the Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thursday night for a TNT game.

Pierce sprained his ankle and banged his knee in a fall during Monday's home victory over Boston.

He's out while the Clippers count the days until the long-awaited return of Blake Griffin, who missed three months because of injury and now is serving the third game of a four-game suspension for punching a team employee.

Griffin is due back for Sunday's home against Washington.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers said he's hoping Pierce isn't out for more than a week, "but I don't really know that."

"This is his time of the year," Rivers told reporters at this morning's shootaround, "but at the end of the day, health is health. We need him healthy. We get Blake back on Sunday. We were hoping we could have our full team back for a change and now that's not going to happen."

The last time these two teams played, the Wolves won 108-103 at Staples Center on the second night of back-to-back games there in early February.

Tayshaun Prince helped limited Clippers hot-shooting guard J.J. Redick to a 1-for-9 shooting night that game. Zach LaVine will draw that assignment starting tonight's game.

That was a turning point for a Wolves team beginning to play better. They had lost five consecutive games -- including the night before to the lowly Lakers -- but won three of four games heading into the All-Star break and now are 8-12 after the All Star break.

"It was a good game over there after we lost to the Lakers," Wolves guard Ricky Rubio said. "We came back to win against the Clippers. It was something we're going to look back and say that is one of the games that got us better."