The Los Angeles Lakers had another hugely important game on Friday when they faced the Minnesota Timberwolves, who came into the contest half a game ahead of L.A. in eighth place in the Western Conference.
After a competitive first quarter, Minnesota went up by 10 at halftime, and it looked like the Lakers were in some trouble, as they had trouble hitting shots and protecting the ball.
But they took control in the third quarter, and they did it by playing their game. They tightened up their defense, and suddenly Minnesota went cold offensively. That defense ignited the Lakers’ feared fast break, which produced 14 points in the period. Overall, it was a 24-2 run that gave Los Angeles a solid lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
In the first half, turnovers were a problem for L.A., but they became a problem for the Timberwolves after halftime, especially in the third quarter. Overall, they committed 16 turnovers and shot just 43.2 percent from the field, as LeBron James and crew put the clamps on.
The Lakers’ 123-111 victory not only put them over .500 for the first time in over a calendar year, but it also catapulted them into seventh place in the Western Conference. They’re now just one game behind the sixth-place Golden State Warriors, who they hold the tiebreaker over, and 1.5 games behind the fifth-place Los Angeles Clippers, who they will play on April 5.
Anthony Davis: A+
Davis was dominant once again, scoring 38 points and devouring 17 rebounds while shooting 15-of-26 from the field and 8-and-10 from the free throw line. He also added two blocked shots and a steal.
However, he gave everyone a scare in the third quarter when he landed on the side of Wenyen Gabriel’s foot and appeared to injure his left foot or ankle. Davis was writhing on the ground in what looked like serious pain, but he remained in the game, and ironically, he played his best ball after getting hurt.
The superstar big man scored 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers slammed the door on the Timberwolves. As he has done a number of times in the past, he put a huge dent in the false narrative that he’s supposedly soft by not only gutting it out but also playing very well while hurt.
Jarred Vanderbilt: B
Vanderbilt guarded Karl-Anthony Towns, and when Towns wasn’t on the court, he even guarded Anthony Edwards, who is 6-foot-4, at times.
While Towns had 23 points, he shot 8-of-18, and with Vanderbilt’s help, Edwards was a terrible 4-of-16 from the floor.
The Lakers forward contributed more on offense than usual. He got some easy baskets at or near the rim by being active, resulting in 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and he added five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 28 minutes.
LeBron James: C+
James was ineffective offensively in his third game back from a right foot tendon injury, as he went 7-of-19 from the field and scored just 18 points.
However, during the Lakers’ third-quarter sprint, he made a number of lead passes ahead in transition to help spark their fast break. He finished with six assists, as well as 10 rebounds, two blocks and one steal in 32 minutes.
The fact that L.A. scored such an important win and dominated as it did in the second half despite a bad offensive game from James speaks volumes about its depth and balance.
D'Angelo Russell: B-/B
Russell had an off night offensively, shooting just 5-of-12 overall and 1-of-4 from 3-point range to score 12 points. However, he dished out 10 assists against just three turnovers while also contributing two steals.
His skills as a legitimate ball-handler and facilitator have raised the bar for this Lakers team while taking lots of pressure off James.
Austin Reaves: B+
Reaves remained in the starting lineup, and he had his usual solid performance with 15 points while hitting 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. He also added six rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes.
Rui Hachimura: B-
Hachimura went just 1-of-4 and scored four points in 21 minutes, but he played some nice defense on Minnesota’s big men, especially when he came into the game in the first quarter.
He contributed one blocked shot and one steal, and he was a part of the Lakers’ big run in the third quarter when they took the air out of Minnesota’s game.
One key moving forward for Hachimura, especially when it comes to his potential future with L.A. beyond this season, is his defense. At 6-foot-8 and about 230 pounds, he has a 7-foot-2 wingspan, which means he has the tools to be a very good defender.
Wenyen Gabriel: B
In 15 minutes, Gabriel made both of his field-goal attempts, including a nice mini-hook shot in the second half that was somewhat reminiscent of the one Magic Johnson had in his arsenal. He also added two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Dennis Schroder: A-
Schroder helped ignite the Lakers’ big run in the third quarter, and his stats don’t tell the whole story of how he did so.
He scored 11 points on 3-of-4 field-goal shooting and 5-of-6 from the free throw line to go along with six assists and two steals in 23 minutes, but his ball pressure and overall defense helped result in more than two turnovers, especially during the team’s third-quarter run.
Schroder is a scrapper, and it would be a big boon to the Lakers if they manage to keep him in the fold on a new contract next season.
Malik Beasley: A
Beasley played 10 minutes, and he shot well for a change, going 3-of-5 overall and 3-of-4 from downtown to score nine points while also grabbing six rebounds.
However, head coach Darvin Ham didn’t play him at all in the second half, even though he was hot in the first half. Perhaps this was part of Ham starting to go with a tighter rotation that could resemble what he will roll with in the playoffs, if the Lakers make the playoffs.
Troy Brown Jr.: Incomplete
Another casualty of Ham looking to tighten his rotation could be Brown. He played just nine minutes on Friday and attempted only one shot, which he missed. As a result, he made no positive contributions on the stat sheet.
