Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves looked like a very difficult one for the Los Angeles Lakers from the start.
The Lakers came in with a three-game losing streak, and they had been on the road for most of December, which means fatigue has been building up. Furthermore, Minnesota had the Western Conference’s best record and the NBA’s best defensive rating.
But the Lakers’ chances of winning diminished even more when it was announced LeBron James wouldn’t play due to what was termed ankle tendinitis.
Somehow, the Lakers competed well. They started in strong fashion, establishing a 12-5 lead. But as has been the case so often lately, that lead evaporated quickly amid a cluster of turnovers, opponent fast breaks and 3-pointers.
Unlike in recent games, however, L.A. stymied Minnesota’s run and stayed within two possessions for much of the second quarter. It trailed by just four points at halftime and at the end of the third quarter. In the end, though, it simply didn’t have enough firepower or muscle, and it fell to the Timberwolves, 118-111.
Los Angeles hurt itself with 17 turnovers, several of which were careless. Yet again, it was significantly outscored in the 3-point shooting department. While it shot an excellent 10-of-23 from that distance, Minnesota went 14-of-36. Getting beat chiefly on 3-point shooting volume has become a broken record for the Lakers, who were ahead or at least competitive in many other statistical categories.
They are 15-14 and in 10th place in the Western Conference. If the regular season ended today, they would have to win back-to-back play-in tournament games on the road just to reach the playoffs.