Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers returned home to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 142-125.
It was a run-and-gun game from the jump as both teams pushed the ball up the court nearly every possession. Davis got off to a hot start as he scored 11 of the team’s first 17 points, helping them take the early lead.
Jeff Teague provided some scoring punch for Minnesota off the bench as he knocked down a pair of three-pointers to keep the game close, but Los Angeles continued to work the paint for easy buckets. Davis capped off the quarter with a dunk in transition and the Lakers went into the second quarter up 39-31.
After checking out of the first with two early fouls in the first, LeBron James looked to get going offensively as he knocked down a deep three-pointer while also posterizing Gorgui Dieng. However, he immediately went back to the bench after picking up his third personal foul and the Los Angeles offense bogged down without him on the floor.
With Minnesota in the lead, head coach Frank Vogel re-inserted James in the lineup who helped spark a mini-run but he eventually picked up his fourth personal foul. Despite that, the Lakers rallied at the end of the quarter by going on an 11-0 run and they went into halftime up 73-65.
Both teams shot well from the field to start the third quarter as Los Angeles and Minnesota moved the ball and generated open looks at the rim and along the perimeter. However, the Lakers finally got going defensively as they did a better job of rotating and contesting shots which allowed them to go on a 14-2 run midway through the period.
Minnesota promptly responded by going on a 12-2 run of their own to get right back in the contest with Karl-Anthony Towns quarterbacking their offense. The purple and gold managed to maintain their lead thanks to some Davis buckets and went into the fourth quarter up 110-103.
Even with the Lakers getting anything they wanted offensively to start the final quarter, the Timberwolves kept hanging around as they continued to make timely shots. Davis came back at the midpoint of the frame and promptly went back to work in the post, drawing fouls on Towns and adding to his season-high point total at the charity stripe.
The Lakers finally pulled away down the stretch behind consecutive three-pointers from James that gave them their biggest lead of the night and simply ran out the clock.
