It was going to fall on the shoulders of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to provide the Lakers with enough offense and it was going to fall on the shoulders of Marcus Smart to be the defensive presence with so many of their teammates sitting out with injuries.
They were being forced to carry the load because LeBron James (right hip contusion and left foot arthritis) and backup centers Jaxson Hayes (back soreness) and Maxi Kleber (back) were all out with injuries.
And Doncic, Reaves and Smart all did their part, putting up the points and playing solid defense in helping the Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-106 Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
“I think everybody who stepped on the court did an amazing job,” said Doncic, who had a triple-double with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. “Everybody fought to the end and that’s how we got this win.”
Reaves had 31 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
Smart played his usual smothering defense, doing a very good job in limiting Timberwolves All-Star guard Anthony Edwards to just 14 points on two-for-15 shooting from the field and one-for-10 from three-point range.
“I think it was collective,” Doncic said. “Obvioulsy Smart is our leader in that (defense). He did a great job. I think today DA (Deandre Ayton) was amazing for us. But like I said earlier, I think we collectively did well and obviously they pushed us too and I think we did an amazing job.”
The Lakers had to lean on Ayton even more because Hayes and Kleber were out.
Ayton responded with one of his more forceful games of the season, producing a double-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds and two assists.
“Just hats off to them,” Ayton said about his teammates. “They found the areas where I was open and putting pressure on the rim and teams got to decide whether they want to corner three or the high-percentage basket.”
Ayton was efficient with his play, missing just four of his 11 shots. He was active, his five offensive rebounds proof of that.
Luka Doncic puts up a shot while triple-teamed in the second half.
Luka Doncic puts up a shot while triple-teamed in the second half.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“It’s great for his teammates to see him have a really good performance on both ends of the floor,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I think it’s bigger for DA to have a game like that against a really good team, one of the best teams in basketball. He’s won us a ton of games this year. During this stretch, there has been some ups and downs, but he was great tonight. It was good for his confidence.”
The Lakers, who led by as much as 23 points, swept the three-game season series against the Timberwolves and jumped over Minnesota to fourth place in the competitive Western Conference.
The Lakers started the game 0 for 8 and finished the first quarter seven for 25. They missed all 11 of their three-pointers in the first 12 minutes. Doncic missed his first five shots before finishing the period two for 10.
The Lakers didn’t score their first basket until Smart scored on a driving layup with seven minutes and 25 seconds left, the first of just 16 points they scored in the quarter.
But the Lakers were down by just five points in the first because the Timberwolves were only eight for 23 from the field and one for 12 from three-point range. Edwards was just one for eight from the field in the first and missed all five of his three-pointers.
The Lakers stayed the course and wound up shooting 63.4% from the field in the second half and 50% (eight-for-16) from three-point range in the final 24 minutes.
“Just continuing to play. Not dwelling over, I wouldn’t say a bad half, but just missing some shots,” said Reaves, who had 29 points in the second half. “I thought I made some good plays but just continuing to play the game.”
James missed his third straight game with his injury. He missed the first two, against the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks, with a left elbow contusion and left foot arthritis.
James was injured in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ game last Thursday night. He had scored over Denver Nikola Jokic, but was clipped by the Nuggets’ center and fell hard onto the court, holding his left elbow.
James iced his elbow after the game in Denver.
“He did his on-court shooting before our film and walk-through and probably just needs a couple more days,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “So, it’s still day to day. Sometimes da -to day means two days, sometimes it can mean five or six days. But he’s day to day.”
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