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SteemSports Editor:
The Los Angeles Lakers braved the barren tundra of Minnesota to face the Timberwolves on Thursday night. Their journey didn't bear any fruit as they emerged with a loss at the hands of Taj Gibson (28 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks), Jimmy Butler (24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks), and Karl Anthony Towns (10 points, 19 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks). Jeff Teague also had a solid game with 20 points and 6 assists.
The Lakers attacked the paint early on, and the Wolves tried to do the same by feeding Karl Anthony Towns down low. It looked like another no-show for the Laker defense at first. The Timberwolves were shooting 60% before the first timeout was taken but the Lakers were winning 18-13. Minny pushed back when Jimmy Butler got his rhythm going off some layups, and they jumped ahead 25-21. Right out of that timeout Minnesota dropped the ball on defense, and as Kyle Kuzma started heating up for the Lakeshow bringing the game total to 39-35. Another high scoring first quarter for the Lakers - they allowed 45 points in the first quarter last night to New Orleans.
Coming into quarter two, the Lakers offense was looking good. Zubac was having a nice game from the get-go with 11 points and 6 rebounds, shooting 4 of 4 from the field. The Wolves had to take a timeout though because Zubac was just putting the moves on them like Michael Jackson, and the rest of the team was getting out in transition and scoring. They almost racked up a 20 point lead, but the T-Wolves slowly chipped away and narrowed it to a single digit lead. The Laker defense broke down, and the Wolves began to win the battle of the glass. The Lakers had a 15 point lead at one point but Minnesota ended the half on a 20-8 run and only down 3 65-62.
The Timberwolves quickly jumped out to a lead at the beginning of the quarter, but the Lakers came back and hopped on top. It was looking like this would be a back and forth contest from this point on. With about 5 minutes remaining the Lakers went on a 17-6 run. Isaiah Thomas was noticeably absent for most of the third quarter, maybe that was for defensive purposes. They tallied up a 12 point lead when Minnesota was forced to take a timeout 88-76. Taj Gibson and his scoring (23 points) led the Wolves through a small comeback and Karl Anthony Towns kept grabbing those boards (15) to cut the lead to 6 points. The penultimate quarter ended with LA still up 91-84
The home team nailed a 3 pointer to start the final quarter. Jamal Crawford kept bringing Minny back into the game with big shots beyond the arc, sending the roof of the Target Center higher off the ground with each one. Kyle Kuzma tried in vain to get something going but he was just shooting cold. The Lakers stopped moving the ball and Jimmy Butler really took charge, facilitating and scoring. The game looked like it was getting away from the Lakers as the T-Wolves defense clamped down in the half-court. With a little more than a minute remaining and the Wolves ahead 6, Jimmy Butler got two straight blocks during a scrambling possession on a Julius Randle and Isaiah Thomas and it felt like it was over. Another poor defensive performance from the Lakers yielded a 111-119 Loss.
Isaiah Thomas isn't 100% back from his hip injury, and it's limiting his offensive effectiveness. He hasn't had a lot of time to gel with the Lakers overall, they've been on the road since receiving him in the trade from Cleveland. He's usually a potent force in the pick and roll but the hip has been hindering his ability to get to the rack like he used to. Other than Isaiah, they just got overpowered in the last 3 or 4 minutes by the surging Timberwolves. The Lakers will get a week full of rest for the All-Star break, and a possible Lonzo Ball comeback when they return to the Staples Center on Friday, February 23rd. The time off will be good for them, maybe Isaiah can utilize it to catch up on the Lakers defensive schemes and offensive playbook.
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