Chris Paul hits the first free-throw, then the second, and the third... huge brick.

Derrick Williams made a terrible rookie mistake with 2 seconds left as he fouled Chris Paul while he was shooting a 3-point shot.  The Clippers were down 95-92 and CP3 was all but guaranteed to tie them up but to the surprise of everyone the crowd got to him on the last one.

The third attempt was a brick and the Clippers catch the loss. There’s a lot more to losing a game than a missed free throw at the end, but had LeBron James missed that free-throw… it would lead off SportsCenter for three days straight.  Some guys just get a pass in the NBA while others are going to catch heat no matter what.

To make things worse, the Denver Nuggets Aaron Afflalo hit three straight free-throws at the end of the Kings/Nuggets game to send it into overtime.  Exactly what superstar Paul was supposed to do with the game on the line.  Those have to be automatic for those millions.

James, Carmelo Anthony, and Russell Westbrook are three guys who get drug through the dirt over and over.  It’s the NBA so that’s what they sign up for,but the media has it’s opinions formed on guys like Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade.  Some players get a pass from the media and from the fans after losing big game like CP3 just did.

The real reason why the Wolves got out with the win was Kevin Love’s monster day (as usual).  If you consider Blake Griffin and Kevin Love the top two power forwards in basketball, then Love won the crown today.

Kevin Love 39 Pts, 17 Reb, 2 Ast vs Blake Griffin 26 Pts, 12 Reb.  Both big game but 39 and 17 is the kind of stuff that has the normally lotto bound Wolves in the Western Conference playoff hunt at 19-18.

Clippers need more from the rest of the team outside of Paul and Griffin.  Caron Butler was 0-for-6 with 0 points while backup Simmons was 2-for 7.  The loss of Chauncey Billups has taken away some of the perimeter firepower that Lob City needs to compete for a championship.