After dropping their season opener, the Los Angeles Lakers were back in action on Friday night, hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena.
This, of course, was a rematch of last year’s playoffs when the Lakers were eliminated in five games. They were looking for some revenge on the Timberwolves, and they were able to get it with a 128-110 victory to improve to 1-1 on the season.
The Timberwolves jumped out to a quick 10-4 start, although Luka Doncic scored seven straight points for the Lakers to keep it from getting out of hand early. Minnesota was unconscious from deep though as they immediately responded with another run, forcing JJ Redick to use a timeout with his team trailing 21-13.
Anthony Edwards kept the Timberwolves run going out of the timeout to get the lead to double digits before Austin Reaves got going to join Doncic offensively. Despite the hot shooting from Minnesota, the Lakers cut their deficit to 40-36 at the end of the first thanks to a 23-point quarter from Doncic.
The lack of defense continued for both teams in the second quarter, but back-to-back triples by Rui Hachimura and Reaves tied the game at 52.
JJ Redick challenged a foul call on Gabe Vincent and was unhappy that it was unsuccessful, picking up a technical in the process. That seemed to give the Lakers some energy though as Marcus Smart and Jarred Vanderbilt were making plays on the defensive side of the ball.
Meanwhile, Doncic continued his red-hot first half and went into the locker room with 32 points and the Lakers leading 68-63.
Third quarters have been a struggle for the Lakers, but they came out strong this time, outscoring the Timberwolves 8-5 to force a timeout. Doncic and Deandre Ayton then found some chemistry in the pick-and-roll and then Reaves completed a three-point play to extend the lead to double digits. They kept the pressure on to close the third and took a 108-94 lead into the fourth.
It was more domination from Doncic to begin the final quarter, scoring five straight points to effectively put the game out of reach. He continued pouring it on an finished the night with 48 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists on 14-of-23 shooting.
What’s next for the Lakers
After playing their first two games at home, the Lakers will now hit the road for the first time for a matchup with the Sacramento Kings on Sunday evening. They will then return home and host the Portland Trail Blazers in the second night of a back-to-back on Monday.
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