NBA Game Recap - Minnesota at LA Lakers
Thu Jan 24, 2019 10:30 PM EST

GS
126
WAS
118
F
NO
116
OKC
122
F
POR
120
PHO
106
F
MIN
120
LAL
105
F

Jan 24, 2019, 10:30 PM EST

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Minnesota

28

30

26

36

120

LA Lakers

29

32

21

23

105

Towns powers Timberwolves to 120-105 win over Lakers
Fri Jan 25, 2019 2:59 AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Minnesota Timberwolves needed three players to step up when guard Derrick Rose went down injured.

Andrew Wiggins, Jerryd Bayless and Jared Terrell all delivered in the absence of Rose, who didn't play in the second half because of a sore right ankle, and another dominant performance by Karl-Anthony Towns helped the Timberwolves keep rolling.

Towns had 27 points and 12 rebounds to propel Minnesota past the Los Angeles Lakers 120-105 on Thursday night.

Wiggins added 23 points and Bayless scored 16 off the bench for the Timberwolves, who have won three straight. Terrell, a rookie guard, had 10 points to help make up for the loss of Rose, who had six points in 12 minutes before exiting.

"It was a huge team win," Wiggins said. "We have a lot of guys out, a lot of guys that (are) hurt, and people came in and stepped up."

Interim coach Ryan Saunders did not know if Rose would be available to play Friday against Utah.

It was the frontline of Towns and Taj Gibson that put Minnesota ahead with an 11-1 run early in the third quarter. Towns had seven points, including a 3-pointer to push the Timberwolves back in front 69-66 with 7:34 to play in the period. They did not trail again.

Gibson had the other four points and finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Wiggins was effective in closing out the game with nine points and three assists in the fourth quarter. Terrell scored seven in the period after totaling nine in his first four career games.

"Guys banding together all the way, we were great," Saunders said. "All the way down the line we had great efforts."

Rajon Rondo had 15 points, 13 assists and six rebounds in his first game since injuring a finger on his right hand at Golden State on Christmas, but the Lakers lost their third in a row.

Brandon Ingram had 20 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 13.

Rondo went right to work after missing 14 games because of a sprained finger that required surgery, getting eight points and four rebounds in the first quarter.

But Los Angeles centers Ivica Zubac and JaVale McGee had seven of the Lakers' 20 turnovers, which led to 34 points for the Timberwolves.

"It went back to physicality," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "They didn't get turnovers from trying to play-make. They got the ball stripped from them."

SWEET LUOL

The Timberwolves also got an unexpected contribution from Luol Deng, who had seven points and three rebounds in 11 minutes after playing in one game for the Lakers last season. Deng was bought out by Los Angeles in September after signing a four-year, $72 million free agent contract in 2016, but said he was not interested in any personal retribution against his former team.

"I tried not to make this me against them," Deng said. "This was really the Timberwolves coming in here and needing a win. I try to clear my mind from all that. What happened, happened. I'm blessed in so many other ways. I just wanted just to focus on winning the game."

LOST KUZ

Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma couldn't get on track, finishing with 10 points and failing to make any of his four 3-point attempts. Walton attributed the poor performance to a hip injury. Kuzma said he landed on the hip after making his first shot and hoped that two days of treatment would be enough to allow him to play Sunday against Phoenix.

"We're fighting to be in the playoffs, we're fighting for seeding and the season is ticking down," Kuzma said. "Everything has to be serious right now. Every game matters, every possession, every second."

TIP-INS

Timberwolves: F Jeff Teague missed his second straight game because of soreness in his left foot. ... Minnesota went 3-1 in the season series. The Timberwolves are 15-8 over their past 23 games against the Lakers following a 22-game losing streak.

Lakers: Walton said he would not update a timetable for the return of LeBron James, who missed his 15th straight game because of a groin strain. "I'm not going to throw out weeks or day," Walton said after James returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday. "He knows what he's doing, he's taking care of his body, and when he's ready to go, he'll go." ... Los Angeles shot 50.6 percent from the field despite going 8 of 28 from 3-point range.

UP NEXT

Timberwolves: Visit the Utah Jazz on Friday.

Lakers: Host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

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Leaders

Minnesota PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
K. Towns 27 12 5 12 1 2
A. Wiggins 23 15 3 8 2 0
LA Lakers PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
B. Ingram 20 -10 1 6 2 0
R. Rondo 15 -1 13 6 1 2

Team Comparison

MIN LAL
Points For 120 105
Field Goals 44/102-43% 44/87-51%
Three Pointers 10/33-30% 8/28-29%
Free Throws 22/25-88% 9/14-64%
Offensive Rebounds 22 9
Defensive Rebounds 33 30
Rebounds 63 46
Blocks 3 5
Steals 8 5
Turnovers 12 19
Points Scored Off Turnovers 34 16
Points in the Paint 54 68
Fast Break Points 15 11
Personal Fouls 15 23
Technical Fouls 0 1
Flagrant Fouls 0 1
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - MIN Leads Series 3-1

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Mon Oct 29 LAL 120 @ MIN 124 L. James 29 J. Butler 32
Wed Nov 7 MIN 110 @ LAL 114 D. Rose 31 L. James 24
Sun Jan 6 LAL 86 @ MIN 108 L. Stephenson 14 K. Towns 28
Thu Jan 24 MIN 120 @ LAL 105 K. Towns 27 B. Ingram 20

Game Information

Stadium: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 18,997
Game Time: 2:18