The schedule to close the 2025-26 season is a tough one for the Los Angeles Lakers as they face off against several playoff teams. The Lakers earned a hard-fought victory against the New York Knicks on Sunday but didn’t get much time to rest as they hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.
Los Angeles and Minnesota entered the matchup separated by just one game in the standings, though the former owns the regular season tiebreaker. With how close the Western Conference standings are, the Lakers could ill afford to drop a game to the Timberwolves who were clinging on to the third seed.
The first quarter was an offensive drought as both teams struggled to shoot the basketball. Fortunately, Los Angeles was able to catch a rhythm in the second quarter and went into the locker rooms at halftime tied 45-45.
The third quarter was a completely different story as the Laker offense finally erupted, scoring 39 points and building a large lead that they managed to hold on to in the fourth. Los Angeles won the game and picked up another quality win against a postseason-bound squad in Minnesota. This marks the third consecutive win for the Lakers and six of their last seven games.
Luka Doncic was one of the players that couldn’t get anything to fall down in the first quarter, but he eventually got himself back on track with a couple of shots at the rim. When Doncic wasn’t scoring, he was contributing on both ends of the floor and that helped Los Angeles extend its lead.
Doncic found it much easier to score in the second half as he had his jumper going, though he did have to fight through some pain as he bumped knees with players multiple times. Overall, Doncic remained productive against an elite defensive team as he recorded a triple-double of 31 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Austin Reaves appeared to be heading for a rough game as he only managed to score two points in the first half, but he erupted in the second half. Reaves seemingly couldn’t miss in the second half, torching the Timberwolves from each level of the floor. Reaves had everything working for him as he even converted on a pair of four-point plays that kept Minnesota at bay.
Reaves almost recorded his own triple-double as he had 31 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
The Lakers were shorthanded in the frontcourt, which meant that Deandre Ayton had to step up, and that’s exactly what he did. The big man had a double-double in the first half alone and wound up finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will look to keep their winning streak going when they host the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. They’ll then see the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
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