Lakers News: Valiant Effort In Minnesota Falls Short, Lakers Lose 111-102
Your Los Angeles Lakers, suiting up without their second-best player for the first time this regular season, have fallen to an 0-5 record after losing a close one to the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight, 111-102. Even the Lakers' throwback MPLS jerseys, being worn in Minneapolis against the town's current team, couldn't help them stave off a frustrating finish!
All Star big man Anthony Davis was a late scratch due to the sore back we all saw him aggravate during L.A.'s Wednesday loss to the Denver Nuggets. Thomas Bryant, Dennis Schroder, and Cole Swider all remained sidelined with their various longer-term ailments.
Darvin Ham tinkered with his starting lineup sans AD tonight. He kept Patrick Beverley, Lonnie Walker IV and LeBron James in the starting five, but swapped out Austin Reaves's passing in favor of Troy Brown Jr.'s defense at small forward and brought in 6'11" traditional center Damian Jones to replace the absent Davis. A healthy Russell Westbrook came off the bench for the first time as a Laker, and it actually went pretty well!
In a welcome change of pace, the Lakers and Timberwolves were fairly even in terms of their shooting. Los Angeles actually shot a bit better from the floor (41.6% vs. 41.4%), the two teams converted around the same amount of their triples (31% for L.A., 32.5% for Minnesota), and Los Angeles made more of its free throws (70.4%) than the Timberwolves did (66.7%).
The big problem for Los Angeles was protecting the ball. The Timberwolves had 13 team steals, far outpacing the Lakers' eight. L.A. also coughed up the ball a whopping 22 times, compared to just 10 for the Timberwolves. Minnesota scored 25 points off those turnovers, while the Lakers managed just nine.
In 37:27 minutes, LeBron James enjoyed a solid night offensively, scoring 28 points on 10-of-24 shooting, pulling down seven rebounds, dishing out five assists, and swiping four steals. Russell Westbrook had a typically inefficient shooting night (6-of-17 from the field), but still managed to score 18 points, grab eight boards, and snag a steal and a block. He did have more turnovers (five) than assists (three).
Austin Reaves (12 points on 4-of-5 shooting) and Brown (12 points on 4-of-10 shooting) were L.A.'s only other double-digit scorers.
The Timberwolves enjoyed a balanced attack, punishing L.A. inside without Davis. Rudy Gobert had a 22-points, 21-rebound double-double, while Anthony Edwards (29 points on 11-of-22 shooting) and Karl-Anthony Towns (21 points on 8-of-17 shooting) were the team's other major scorers. Five Timberwolves scored in double figures. Ex-Laker D'Angelo Russell had a Westbrook-ian night in terms of efficiency (he shot 4-for-15), but the 6'4" point guard did most notably chip in six of his the club's 13 steals.
In the game's first quarter, James seemed a bit deferential, taking a bunch of jumpers and letting his teammates shoot. Minnesota would win the quarter by a hair, 28-25. At least it's nice that Reaves is emerging as an actual NBA player, with a flair for creative dishes. Check out this superb behind-the-back dime to big man Wenyen Gabriel:
During the second frame, the Timberwolves built their lead to as much as eight points, but Los Angeles scrapped. A 7-0 Lakers run keyed entirely by James and Westbrook helped L.A. tie things up at the half, 52-52.
Taurean Prince and the Timberwolves' Big Three of Gobert, Edwards and KAT helped Minnesota pull away in the fourth quarter. Some timely triples from Brown and Reaves (what a change of pace!) helped keep L.A. in it, but some sloppy possessions late doomed the Lakers to their fifth straight loss.
Perhaps the happiest moment of the fourth quarter for Los Angeles came when James officially logged his 1,135th consecutive 20+ point game, surprising one-time Laker Karl Malone to set a new NBA record:
A few moments later, however, both the Timberwolves and Lakers had their performative nadirs of the night, with an airball from Minnesota and a terrible layup attempt from guess who:
That wasn't the only time in the fourth period where Russell Westbrook lost the ball on a drive:
The team's six turnovers (compared to just one for Minnesota) in the frame had a hugely damaging impact on L.A.'s chances late.
Granted, it's a bit of "good job, good effort" move to praise the Lakers for playing pretty well for most of the night, but this team really is showing signs of life with Ham finally playing bigger wings like Brown and Reaves, and opting to stagger the minutes of James and Westbrook more. The problem is, the Timberwolves are just a better, deeper team, especially with Los Angeles missing Anthony Davis. Minnesota's record improved to 4-2 with the win.
The Lakers now join the Sacramento Kings as the only NBA clubs without a victory.
