LOS ANGELES – There was no LeBron James for the Lakers on Friday night as the Timberwolves came to town for their second game, a rematch of last season’s first-round playoff matchup between the two teams.
But the Wolves offered little resistance defensively in a 128-110 loss as Luka Doncic carved them up all night for 49 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. The Lakers shot 59.2% for the night. The Wolves had their offense also humming early, and that usually means good things for a team that had prided itself on its defense. Not so Friday.
But a night that began with the Wolves building a double-digit lead in the first quarter turned into an easy victory for the Lakers. Anthony Edwards had 31 while Julius Randle added 26 for the Wolves, who opened the season 1-1 on the West Coast before returning for their home opener Sunday vs. Indiana.
The Wolves opened the night playing the pace they talked about emphasizing in the preseason. They were pushing the ball after makes and misses and that got their offense in a rhythm early. The raced out to a 28-17 lead by hitting 11 of their first 14 shots.
The Lakers had the firepower to keep pace behind Doncic, who had 23 in the first quarter as the both teams shot 57%.
With Doncic on the bench, the Wolves’ defense just couldn’t get a stop in the second quarter as the Lakers climbed out of that double-digit hole to tie the game at 60. They’d take a 68-63 lead into halftime. Doncic was up to 32 by the half.
On Wednesday, the Wolves let Portland score 95 points by the end of three quarters. The Lakers outdid that by reaching 108 through three. The Wolves were late to close outs, or just left shooters wide open, and fell for pump fakes all night.
That just rolled over into the second half as the Wolves couldn’t strong together consecutive stops to keep the Lakers from extending the lead to 14 to open the fourth quarter.