LOS ANGELES — The Lakers’ recent success, having the league’s best record since Jan. 15, has come in large part because they have consistently played with greater effort.
LeBron James had 33 points, 17 rebounds and six assists as they held off the Minnesota Timberwolves, 111-102, for their 16th win in 20 games on Thursday night, but the game illustrated the cost of consistently having to play as hard as they have.
The Lakers’ offense sputtered after a strong start, partly because the short-handed Timberwolves (playing without Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle) tightened up their defense. But the Lakers’ offense also stagnated, and they seemed to lack the energy to pull themselves out of the rut.
The Lakers shot 69.6% from the free-throw line (32 for 46) – an indication their legs were waning as the game progressed.
“You could certainly speculate maybe that the shooting woes are because guys are playing so hard defensively, maybe,” said Coach JJ Redick, whose team is now 15 games over .500 at 36-21. “I don’t know. I know we’ve had some good games [shooting the ball] where we’ve played as hard as we played tonight. So, it’s something we’ll monitor for sure.”
James and Luka Doncic (21 points, 13 rebounds, five assists) helped get the Lakers across the finish line after their 23-point lead was cut to four late in the fourth quarter. James and Doncic combined for 14 of the Lakers’ 27 fourth-quarter points and 10 rebounds in the final period.
“We know we could have been a lot better offensively, but, we’ve been hanging our hat on our defense,” said James, who flung himself into a row of empty courtside seats trying to contest a 3-point attempt in the third quarter. “And when you don’t shoot the ball well, you got to be able to get stops and they made a run. They’re a really good team. But we were able to execute after that, get some timely stops and were able to come on with the win.”
Minnesota trailed 92-77 less than three minutes into the fourth quarter before going on a 13-1 run. With the Lakers clinging to a 95-91 lead, Doncic made an off-balance 3-pointer (off an assist from James) with 3:37 left and the shot clock winding down for a 98-91 lead.
“The shots I made, the shots I miss, it’s just, I have no idea what’s going on,” Doncic said. “But when it left my hand, I knew it was good. So it’s weird.”
It was the only 3-pointer Doncic made (on nine attempts) as he shot 6 for 20 from the field, but the Timberwolves didn’t get any closer than four for the rest of the night.
Doncic’s father was seen in the stands covering his face after Doncic’s lone 3-pointer.
“He probably said, ‘Finally, he made a shot,’” Doncic quipped. “I don’t think he was impressed.”
Since joining the Lakers, Doncic is shooting 11 for 49 from 3-point range (22.4%).
“The big thing for me is you gotta go through a lot of downs to get to the highest point,” he said. “But it’s a big challenge for me, just getting back into my rhythm. Making those easier shots for me. And it’s a big challenge for me. And I look forward to it.”
Austin Reaves finished with 23 points (six in the fourth), six rebounds and five assists and welcomed another win, even if it was more of a struggle.
“It’s good to win when you don’t have your best stuff,” Reaves said after the Lakers shot 5 for 20 from the field in the fourth quarter. “And I feel like that’s how you end up with a really good record. You’re not going to play good every game, but figuring out ways to win those games is very important.”
The Lakers scored 25 points in the second and 26 third quarters after having a 33-17 at the end of the first.
They led by 23 (47-24) early in the second but the margin was trimmed to 11 (58-47) at halftime after the Timberwolves scored nine of the final 13 points of the second, including back-to-back 3-pointers from Terrence Shannon Jr. and Anthony Edwards.
Edwards was ejected midway through the third after picking up his second technical foul of the night, with the Lakers leading 74-59, seemingly upset about a non-call.
After briefly carrying the ball around after being ejected, Edwards threw it into the front row seats on the baseline near the Timberwolves’ bench instead of giving it to the referees, triggering a delay-of-game violation.
Edwards’ second technical on Thursday was his 16th of the season, which means he’ll be suspended for one game if a technical isn’t rescinded.
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura left the game early in the third, coming up gimpy after dunking in transition and immediately went to the locker room. The Lakers ruled Hachimura out later in the quarter because of a strained left knee.
“We’ll get more information over the next 24 hours,” Redick said. “Concern when any guy gets hurt in particular one of our best players and a guy who’s been so important to everything we’ve done [at both ends of the court] this year. I’m not going to speculate on the severity of the injury. I’m hopeful that it’s nothing serious.”
Shannon led Minnesota (32-28) with a career-high 25 points and five rebounds off the bench and Edwards, who is fourth in the league at 27.3 ppg, had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists before departing. The Timberwolves have dropped three of four games and five of their past seven.
The Lakers return to Crypto.com Arena on Friday night to host the Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back. The teams will square off again on Sunday night, also at Crypto.com Arena.
These will be the Clippers’ first games at the downtown venue since they started playing home games at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood this season.
Doncic said he’ll be questionable for Friday after banging knees with a Timberwolves player in the fourth, and Hachimura seems unlikely.