A short-handed Lakers squad suffered a lopsided loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, despite a bright start for emergency guard pickup Isaiah Thomas.
The Lakers were missing several players to health and safety protocol, though Russell Westbrook was able to return after testing out of protocol. Following his game winner in Dallas, Austin Reaves entered protocol just before the game and was unavailable.
LeBron James had a relatively quiet night offensively, scoring 18 points on just 13 shot attempts, his second-lowest shot total of the season. Anthony Davis played just 20 minutes in the game and was limited to nine points and a single rebound.
Isaiah Thomas led all Lakers scorers with 19 points off the bench in 22 minutes of action, and had the Lakers’ best plus-minus of all players to log at least 20 minutes. Davis left the game multiple times during the night, with what the team says were right ankle and left knee injuries.
Here’s what fans and analysts were saying after Friday’s loss.