Timberwolves stop 4-game losing streak by fending off Clippers 93-92 in NBA Cup play

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 21 points on 7-for-21 shooting to help the Minnesota Timberwolves stop a four-game losing streak by holding off the Los Angeles Clippers 93-92 in an NBA Cup game Friday night.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Julius Randle added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who overcame 22 turnovers and another blown double-digit lead.

James Harden had 20 points and 11 assists and Ivica Zubac added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who went ahead 90-87 with 4:10 left on Harden's four-point play for their first lead since 27-26.

Kevin Porter Jr., who had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Clippers, rolled his left ankle on a drive to the basket with 1:29 left as he lost the ball out of bounds with his team trailing by three.

The Timberwolves finished 2-2 in West Group A. The Clippers are 1-2 with one group stage game left. Both teams are long shots to reach the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament.

Edwards hit a pull-up 3-pointer with 2:24 to go for a 92-90 lead.

The Clippers made only one basket, a layup by Zubac, over the final four minutes.

Clippers: With star Kawhi Leonard (knee) yet to play this season and starter Norman Powell (hamstring) sidelined for a his sixth straight game, the Clippers have been hanging in there in the loaded West.

Timberwolves: The 11-point second-quarter lead evaporated in the type of funk that has troubled this team since reaching the conference finals last season, be it from a lack of intensity on defense, a stoppage of movement on offense, or both. With three straight turnovers to start the second half, the Timberwolves found themselves in a tie game soon after.

The Clippers host Denver Sunday. The Timberwolves host the Lakers on Monday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley shoots against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first quarter of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) shoots against Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) in the first quarter of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) shoots against Los Angeles Clippers guard Kris Dunn (8) in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) works around Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden (1) in the first quarter of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) works around Los Angeles Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. (55) in the first quarter of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative Party, which governed the country from 2010 until it suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat two years ago, was plunged into fresh turmoil Thursday after its leader sacked the man widely seen as her greatest rival for apparently plotting to defect from the party.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said in a video and statement on X that she sacked the party's justice spokesperson Robert Jenrick due to “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" in a way that was “designed to be as damaging as possible” to the party. Badenoch also ejected Jenrick from the party's ranks in Parliament and suspended his party membership.

“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I,” she said. “They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes.”

Though Badenoch did not specify which party Jenrick was planning to switch to, Nigel Farage, leader of the hard-right Reform UK party, said he had “of course” had conversations with him.

In the past 12 months, the Conservatives have suffered a string of defections to Reform UK, including some former Cabinet ministers.

Farage said in a press briefing in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, that coincided with Badenoch's statement that, “hand on heart,” he wasn't about to present Jenrick as the latest Conservative to defect to Reform, an upstart, anti-immigration party.

“I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” he said. “I might even buy him a pint, you never know.”

The Conservatives are fighting not just the Labour government to their left, but Reform UK to the right.

Reform, which only has a handful of lawmakers in the House of Commons, is tipped to make a major breakthrough in an array of elections this May, including those to the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, at the expense of both the Conservatives and Labour.

Jenrick, who continued to attract speculation about leadership ambitions despite being beaten in 2024, has appeared more open than Badenoch to the prospect of some sort of deal between the Conservatives and Reform to unite the right in the run-up to next general election, which has to take place by 2029.

Jenrick has yet to respond to the news of his sacking.

Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose favorability ratings have fallen sharply since the general election following a series of missteps, questioned why it took Badenoch “so long” to sack Jenrick given all the speculation that he was looking to either challenge her or to defect to Reform.

Badenoch, a small-state, low-tax advocate, has shifted the Conservatives to the right, announcing policies similar to those of U.S. President Donald Trump, including a promise to deport 150,000 unauthorized immigrants a year.

Her poor poll ratings and lackluster performance in Parliament had stirred speculation that she could be ousted long before the next election.

However, she has been making a better impression in Parliament in recent weeks, particularly during her weekly questioning of Starmer, in a way that appears to have cemented her position as leader.

The party is no stranger to turmoil, having gone through six leaders in the space of 10 years, five of them serving as prime minister. Widespread anger at the way the Conservatives were governing Britain led to their defeat at the general election in July 2024, when they lost around two-thirds of their lawmakers, their worst performance since the modern party was created nearly 200 years ago.

Robert Jenrick speaking at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Robert Jenrick with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage addresses protesters outside the Iranian embassy, in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Kemi Badenoch with Robert Jenrick before being announced as the new Conservative Party leader following the vote by party members at 8 Northumberland Avenue in central London, Nov. 3, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)