Lakers fall to Timberwolves in 10th straight road loss.
The Lakers dropped their 10th straight road game in tonight’s loss to the Timberwolves, surrounding 67 first-half points, falling to Minnesota 124–104 to drop their season record eleven games under .500 at 29–40.
The Lakers (29–40) fell quickly early in the game, unable to make a single shot from three and dissolving into pandemonium on defense. After trailing by as many as 25 points in the second half, the Lakers finally looked like a competitive team, pulling close enough to raise an eyebrow but not close enough to genuinely threaten the Timberwolves for the lead (41–30).
Shooting the ball just 22% from the three-point line was the tell-all of tonight’s outing on offense, knocking down just 10 shots from three on 45 total attempts.
The Lakers’ problems stemmed from the top down once again. LeBron James struggled in the first half, going 3-for-12 (25%) before exploding in the second half to end with 19 points on 8-of-21 (38%) shooting, adding 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in 37 minutes of action.
“We just have to make shots. It’s not rocket science. Just make shots.” LeBron said, speaking about how they can stop the habit of losing early in games.
“I’m very comfortable being uncomfortable. You can control what you can control. LeBron added, “It’s easy to be comfortable when you are winning.”
The Timberwolves yelled at Westbrook to shoot every time the ball hit his hands, and it took until the second quarter for him to eventually score. He shot 5-of-12 (42%) from the field, finishing with a total of 15 points in 35 minutes played.
The Minnesota bench, including Beverley, erupted in laughter when Westbrook shot an airball from the corner with a few minutes left. Towns strolled up to the baseline, where the ball had bounced away, and mockingly pressed his hand on his brow as he pretended to find it.
After that, Westbrook shrugged off the trash talk and dismissed the Timberwolves.
“The trash-talking doesn’t bother me,” he said. “Nobody over there has done anything in this league that would make me pick my eyes up, like, ‘Oh, they’re talking mess. Let me respond.’ No. It’s fine. They’re good. They won the game. Happy for them. Move onto the next one.”
The Lakers’ next matchup comes on the road this Thursday against the Toronto Raptors again, who they just lost to on Monday, as the Lakers look to snap a ten-game road skid and climb back in the win column from their current three-game losing streak.