The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 109-104 at Target Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday, making the playoffs as the seventh-seeded team in the Western Conference.

The Timberwolves will challenge the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round from Game 1 on Saturday.

Patrick Beverley, who scored seven points, 11 rebounds and three assists for the Timberwolves, took his jersey off after the game ended to celebrate the victory. He even brought a beer with him when he appeared at the post-game press conference.

"Take their a** home; get on that flight to L.A.," Beverley, who played for the Clippers last season, said. "Take y'all a** home. It's deeper than that to me. I gave my blood, sweat and tears to that organization just to be written off like that. Injury-prone, he's old, this, that and that. To be able to come here, play them in a play-in, beat their a**. No better feeling, man."

Beverley didn't have the best offensive performance in Tuesday's game as he missed seven of his eight field goal (FG) attempts. But he was everywhere on the floor defensively. His last-minute steal against Reggie Jackson in the final quarter sealed the deal for the Timberwolves.

Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell carried the team's offense, combining for eight triples, 59 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Edwards had 10 points in the fourth quarter and Russell shot 5-for-5 from the floor for 14 points in the second quarter.

"Just utilizing what we have," Russell said. "We've got a lot of pieces that complement each other."

"I took what the game gave me. That's what they gave me. They were scared to guard me, and I took advantage of that," Edwards said.

Karl-Anthony Towns struggled offensively because of the Clippers' special defensive tactics on him. When he had the ball outside, Nicolas Batum forced him to take uncomfortable shots. If Towns received the ball close to the sideline, the Clippers would double-team him quickly. If he tried to post up or drove to the rim, defenders either trapped him or set at least three layers of defense to slow him down.

That's why Towns only shot 3-for-11 from the floor for 11 points and five rebounds before he fouled out in the fourth quarter. It was not his night at Target Center on Tuesday.

However, the Clippers didn't do everything right on defense. Coach Tyronn Lue gave Ivac Zubac over 31 minutes on the floor, during which he was targeted by Russell at all times. Russell could get an easy, comfortable shot from downtown either via a single screen or in transition offense. Marcus Morris also played 30 minutes but he couldn't keep up with Edwards in the second half when he was called upon to guard him on switch defense.

The Clippers can still make the playoffs if they can beat the winner of the San Antonio Spurs-New Orleans Pelicans match-up on Wednesday. But if they don't want to repeat what happened on Tuesday, they'd better take the ball away from Jackson, who shot 1-for-7 from the floor in the fourth quarter, and give it to Paul George, who made three of his six attempts in the same quarter.

Durant, Irving take Nets to Boston

The Brooklyn Nets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-108 at the Barclays Center in New York on Tuesday to reach the playoffs as the seventh-seeded team in the Eastern Conference.

The Nets will meet the Boston Celtics in the first round, starting from Game 1 on Sunday.

Both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving dropped a double-double of points and assists. Irving made all of his first 12 FG attempts to score 28 points in the first three quarters. Durant made remarkable defensive contributions with two blocks and three steals and scored nine points in the fourth quarter to stop the Cavaliers' aggressive rally.

Nonetheless, both Durant and Irving played over 41 minutes in Tuesday's game. When Irving felt run down in the second half, not only did he begin to disappear on the offensive front, he became a defensive weakness for the opponents to exploit. Darius Garland scored 24 points for the Cavaliers in the second half.

Durant, who is three years older and didn't rest any longer than Irving, had to stand out to take over in the last quarter. Bruce Brown offered solid support with six points, four rebounds and five assists. Despite his 1.93-meter height, Brown is a roller on screen plays and shot 6-for-8 in FGs under the rim. He has also shown surprisingly good passing ability in the last three games.

The Nets are in desperate need for playmakers to share the burden with Durant and Irving.

Jarrett Allen failed to return to the Cavaliers lineup in their first play-in tournament game, so first-year rookie Evan Mobley had to be on his own. He was very efficient on offense, shooting 9-for-13 from the field, but not productive enough with 19 points. He was not used to covering everything on offense by himself. As a result, he delivered two blocks at the cost of five personal fouls.

As a result, Garland again had to shoulder the heaviest offensive responsibility and he did a great job on Tuesday night. Having shot 13-for-24 from the floor to score 34 points, Garland was why the game didn't become a unilateral slaughter after the 40-20 first quarter.

The Cavaliers will face the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-Charlotte Hornets match-up in their next game to decide the last playoff team in the East.