The Los Angeles Lakers saw everything go wrong in the second half and were embarrassed by the Minnesota Timberwolves, 107-83.
Russell Westbrook got the scoring going for the Lakers, but Karl Anthony-Towns got off to a hot start to put the Timberwolves up 7-4 early. Turnovers were an issue for Los Angeles but fortunately, Minnesota was almost as bad as taking care of the basketball which allowed them to keep the game close.
Rajon Rondo made his return to the lineup and was an instant spark, finding Anthony Davis for a couple easy baskets and nailing a three to give the Lakers their first lead. Los Angeles closed the quarter on an excellent run, but Carmelo Anthony was called for a flagrant foul at the buzzer that cut their momentum and left them with a 26-19 lead.
It was a terrible beginning to the second as the Timberwolves went on a 11-2 run before Anthony snapped it with his first three of the night. Davis re-entered the game and had a great sequence blocking a shot and earning an and-one opportunity.
With Davis back in, L.A. rattled off a 10-1 run to give themselves some breathing room before Anthony Edwards scored his first bucket. Minnesota went on a small spurt to narrow the deficit, but Los Angeles walked into the half up 49-44.
Third-quarter woes continued for the Lakers as they surrendered a 9-2 run, forcing an early timeout from head coach Frank Vogel. However, the timeout did not do much good as Patrick Beverly and the Timberwolves extended their lead to nine as the Lakers went cold from the field.
L.A. could not buy a basket as they settled for jumper after jumper while Minnesota piled it on and extended their lead into the twenties. Avery Bradley eventually ended the drought, but with everything going for the Timberwolves the Lakers found themselves in a 84-61 hole.
It was clear the Lakers had no juice in them as they failed to make anything happen in the fourth, and D’Angelo Russell seemed to put the nail in the coffin as he caught fire from beyond the arc. With absolutely nothing going their way, L.A. would suffer yet another embarrassing loss.
With the game out of reach, Lakers two-way player Sekou Doumbouya received some minutes in the fourth quarter and actually looked pretty solid, which served as the only positive on the night.
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