LOS ANGELES — Luka Doncic had 31 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds in his seventh triple-double of the season, and the Lakers overcame LeBron James’ latest injury absence to sweep their season series with the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 120-106 victory on Tuesday night.
Austin Reaves scored 29 of his 31 points in a scorching second half for the Lakers (40-25), who slipped ahead of Minnesota (40-25) for fourth place in the Western Conference standings and gained a potentially valuable tiebreaker after their third straight win over the team that knocked them out of the first round of last year’s playoffs.
Doncic secured the 89th triple-double of his career – the seventh-most in NBA history – early in the fourth quarter. Deandre Ayton had 14 points and 12 rebounds in a strong effort after both of his backup big men (Jaxson Hayes and Maxi Kleber) were scratched shortly before the game with back ailments.
James sat out for the third straight game with injuries for the Lakers, who have still won three straight and six of seven and turned in their second straight win against a well-positioned playoff team. He also missed the Lakers’ first two wins over Minnesota this season back in October.
Both teams were mostly awful on offense in the first half. The Lakers missed 17 of their first 21 shots during their 16-point first quarter, and the teams combined to shoot 7 for 44 from 3-point range on their way to a 45-all halftime tie in the 8 p.m. start.
But after a 1-for-8 first half, Reaves scored 16 points in the third quarter while the Lakers pushed their lead to 19. Reaves completed two four-point plays in the second half, and he finished with a season-high seven 3-pointers to go with eight assists and seven rebounds.
Reaves drew a foul from Minnesota guard Jaden McDaniels on a floater for an and-one basket to make it a 13-point lead. After Minnesota star Anthony Edwards made a pair of free throws, Reaves hit a 3-pointer at the other end and Ayo Dosunmu was in his shooting path for a four-point play that resulted in a 14-point lead.
Reaves thrust his arms in the air as he trotted across the Lakers midcourt logo as if offering a Gladiator-esque “Are you not entertained?” Reaves extended the lead to 17 points with a layup thanks to nifty passing from Jake LaRavia, then Luke Kennard forced Minnesota to call a timeout with a fast-break run to the rim for an 82-63 lead with 1:54 left in the third.
Reaves wasn’t done. The undrafted guard-turned-star drilled his second four-point play to bolster a then-22-point advantage in the fourth quarter. Doncic sealed his triple-double effort in the fourth, assisting on a 3-pointer from Marcus Smart. It was his first 30-point triple-double since a Feb. 1 game against the New York Knicks.
The Lakers’ torrid conclusion didn’t erase the ugly start. They were 0 for 8 from the field nearly five minutes into the game and 0 for 15 from 3-point range before Doncic drained one with 6:06 remaining in the second quarter to knot the score at 33-all. Rui Hachimura made their second deep shot to tie the score with five seconds left in the second quarter.
If not for Ayton’s first half – recording a double-double midway through the second quarter – the Lakers could have been stuck with little answer for the frontcourt combo of Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle. Ayton held Gobert to just three points and 12 rebounds.
Ayton hadn’t scored since the second quarter during the final minutes of the fourth. Reaves made sure his center didn’t leave empty-handed for the second half, firing a pass to the 7-footer for an alley-oop dunk with 3:57 remaining to cap his night.
The Lakers improved to 13-8 without the top scorer in NBA history in their lineup, including 10-2 when Doncic and Reaves both play without James.
Randle scored 14 points and Edwards also had 14 on a 2-for-15 shooting night (1 for 10 from 3-point range) for Minnesota, which has lost two straight after a five-game winning streak. Four Timberwolves bench players scored in double figures in the opener of a four-game trip.
_More to come on this story._