Even with Anthony Edwards out because of a right hamstring strain, the Timberwolves weren’t the most injured team at Target Center on Wednesday night.
The Los Angeles Lakers came into the game without their two best players — Luka Doncic and LeBron James — but they left Minnesota with a 116-115 victory on a buzzer beater from Austin Reaves.
The Wolves trailed by 20 late in the third quarter, but Julius Randle’s basket with 10.2 seconds left put them ahead by one.
Then Reaves, after two timeouts, scored the winner on a 12-foot runner into the lane as time ran out.
Again, the Wolves defense looked nothing like it has the past few seasons. The Lakers had open shots all over the floor and shot 54%.
Reaves had 28 points and 16 assists while Jake LaRavia had 27. Randle had 33 and Jaden McDaniels 30 for the Wolves, who had trouble finding scoring down the roster. The Wolves had only one other player in double figures (Donte DiVincenzo with 14).
The Wovles opened the night with a nine-point lead, but their vulnerable defense couldn’t build on that, as the Lakers shot 63% in the first quarter despite turning it over seven times.
Randle had 13 points in the first quarter as he came out hunting his shot against a shorthanded Lakers squad. Reaves, who had 92 points combined in his last two games coming into the night, had eight points in the first quarter, six at the free-throw line.