Recap: Lakers Struggle Offensively Without LeBron James In Loss To Timberwolves

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After getting a few days off to reset, the Los Angeles Lakers returned to the court on Friday night when they traveled north to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Lakers were blown out by Minnesota in the same building on their last road trip so were looking for revenge, although they had to do so without LeBron James in the lineup for the second straight game. Ultimately, the Lakers weren’t able to get the revenge they were looking for as they suffered another 97-87 loss to the Timberwolves.

Austin Reaves returned to the Lakers lineup after a five-game absence but looked rusty early. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves jumped out to a 6-0 start before Max Christie got L.A. on the board a triple. Christie, who got the start in James’ place, then drove baseline and rose up for a layup.

Turnovers were an issue for the Lakers early and Minnesota made them pay with some 3-pointers, forcing an early timeout by JJ Redick.

Anthony Davis made his presence felt out of the timeout with back-to-back jumpers. Turnovers continued to plague the Lakers with 11 in the first quarter, resulting in a 32-23 deficit.

Reaves started to settle in to begin the second, driving for a pair of layups. The Laker defense started to lock in from there as the Timberwolves didn’t make their first field goal of the second until midway through the quarter.

Julius Randle started to punish the Lakers inside though while L.A. went cold to end the half, going into the locker room with a 50-44 deficit.

Reaves began the third quarter with a triple, but Anthony Edwards started to get going offensively after a quiet first half. He hit a triple of his own to give the Timberwolves their largest lead at 15, although he then appeared to roll his ankle and had to leave the game for a few minutes.

The Lakers were able to cut into their deficit a little bit to end the third but still went into the fourth quarter trailing 77-66.

Reaves continued his big game with two 3s early in the fourth, and then Gabe Vincent hit one to keep his team within striking distance.

It was a true rock fight with both teams struggling to score down the stretch. The Lakers definitely had plenty of chances, but they were never able to get over the hump. The allowed the Timberwolves to get some big offensive rebounds down the stretch, which helped close out the game.

It’s no secret that the Lakers missed James, who missed his second straight game with foot soreness.

What’s next for the Lakers

The Lakers will now return home and host the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night before getting a few more days off and heading to Sacramento.

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