Game ID: 22300380
Los Angeles Lakers @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Thursday, December 21, 2023 at 9:00 PM ET
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
MIN 36 27 24 31 118LAL 32 27 24 28 111
LAL @ MIN ScoutingLAL @ MIN Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
MIN availability going into 12/14 · 2 days' restBACK Edwards back 12/06 after 2, 20 min since (56% of 36)
BACK McDaniels back 12/11 after 8, 27 min since (91% of 30)
BACK McLaughlin back 12/11 after 15, 8 min since (79% of 11)
NEW Alexander-Walker 24 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Milton 13 to 19 min over the last 5
NEW Brown Jr. 11 to 29 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 12/16 · 1 day's restBACK Edwards back 12/06 after 2, 25 min since (70% of 36)
BACK McDaniels back 12/11 after 8, 26 min since (85% of 30)
BACK McLaughlin back 12/11 after 15, 5 min since (48% of 11)
NEW Brown Jr. 11 to 26 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 12/18 · 1 day's restBACK Edwards back 12/06 after 2, 27 min since (76% of 36)
BACK McDaniels back 12/11 after 8, 23 min since (76% of 30)
BACK McLaughlin back 12/11 after 15, 5 min since (43% of 11)
NEW Brown Jr. 11 to 23 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restBACK McDaniels back 12/11 after 8, 25 min since (82% of 30)
BACK McLaughlin back 12/11 after 15, 5 min since (43% of 11)
NEW Brown Jr. 11 to 19 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 12/21 · back-to-backBACK McDaniels back 12/11 after 8, 27 min since (91% of 30)
BACK McLaughlin back 12/11 after 15, 4 min since (37% of 11)
MIN availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 12/28 · 1 day's rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 12/30 · 1 day's restNEW McDaniels 30 to 35 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 12/13 · back-to-backOUT Vincent missed 20 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Hachimura back 12/05 after 5, 24 min since (88% of 27)
BACK Vanderbilt back 12/02 after 7, 14 min since (72% of 20)
LAL availability going into 12/15 · 1 day's restOUT Vincent missed 21 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Hachimura back 12/05 after 5, 24 min since (88% of 27)
BACK Vanderbilt back 12/02 after 7, 15 min since (75% of 20)
LAL availability going into 12/18 · 2 days' restOUT Vincent missed 22 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Hachimura back 12/05 after 5, 26 min since (96% of 27)
LAL availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restOUT Vincent missed 23 since 11/01, returns tonight: 14 min (78% of 18)
NEW Prince 27 to 33 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 12/21 · back-to-backBACK Vincent back 12/20 after 23, 14 min since (78% of 18)
NEW Prince 27 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Reddish 20 to 26 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restBACK Vincent back 12/20 after 23, 14 min since (78% of 18)
NEW Prince 27 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Reddish 20 to 29 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT Vincent missed 2 since 12/21, out tonight
OUT Christie missed 2 since 12/21, out tonight
NEW Prince 27 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Reddish 20 to 30 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 12/28 · 2 days' restOUT Vincent missed 3 since 12/21, out tonight
OUT Wood missed 2 since 12/23, returns tonight: 23 min (134% of 17)
OUT Christie missed 3 since 12/21, returns tonight: 24 min (172% of 14)
NEW Prince 27 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Reddish 20 to 28 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 12/30 · 1 day's restOUT Vincent missed 4 since 12/21, out tonight
BACK Wood back 12/28 after 2, 23 min since (134% of 17)
BACK Christie back 12/28 after 3, 24 min since (172% of 14)
NEW Prince 27 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Reddish 20 to 28 min over the last 4
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 43 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Towns at 24 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. The Lakers come in 1-4 over their last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 123, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Davis at 31 and James at 26 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the arc, Minnesota at 43 percent from three to the Lakers' 37 and the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-3 a night and the Lakers minus-3. Call it Minnesota 118, the Lakers 111.
12/14 @ DAL 119-101 — MIN notes
MIN won 119-101. MIN shot 50% (44 of 88) to DAL's 47%, 14 of 31 from three, and went to the line 25 times to DAL's 18 — 17 points from the stripe to their 16. The glass went 45-34 for them. Reid led with 27 (8 of 14, 7 of 11 from three); Towns added 21, Conley 14. The hinge was Q4, 32-19: a lead of 5 became 18, and the lead reached 22. MIN trailed 59-60 at the half and won the second half 60-41. Edwards was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
12/16 vs IND 127-109 — MIN notes
MIN won 127-109. MIN shot 56% (48 of 86) to IND's 50%, 18 of 30 from three. Towns led with 40 (15 of 25, 2 of 3 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Edwards added 37, Reid 17. The hinge was Q3, 38-23: a lead of 2 became 17, and the lead reached 26. Reid was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
12/18 @ MIA 112-108 — MIN notes
MIN won 112-108. MIN shot 49% (42 of 85) to MIA's 47%, 11 of 29 from three. Edwards led with 32 (13 of 25, 2 of 9 from three); Towns added 18, Conley 14. The hinge was Q4, 35-25: MIN came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 4. MIN trailed 54-65 at the half and won the second half 58-43. Alexander-Walker was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
12/20 @ PHI 113-127 — MIN notes
MIN lost 113-127. MIN shot 51% (42 of 82) to PHI's 54%, 9 of 25 from three, and got to the line 24 times to PHI's 32. MIN turned it over 18 times to PHI's 12, and PHI turned those into 9 steals. Edwards led with 27 (9 of 20, 2 of 6 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Towns added 23, McDaniels 21. Q3 was theirs, 27-26, the deficit cut from 4 to 3, but the other 3 periods went 101-86 against them. Reid's -27 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/21 vs LAL 118-111 — MIN notes
MIN won 118-111. MIN shot 48% (42 of 87) to LAL's 49%, 14 of 36 from three. Edwards led with 27 (9 of 19, 2 of 6 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Towns added 21, Conley 16. The hinge was Q1, 36-32: from level to 4 ahead. Towns was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
12/23 @ SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 121, shooting 51 percent and 42 from three, 22 free throws a game; Fox at 31 and Murray at 24 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 111, shooting 51 percent and 44 from three, 22 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Towns at 25 a game. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 111 a night to Sacramento's 121 and the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-3 a night and Sacramento minus-1. Call it Minnesota 117, Sacramento 116, Sacramento keeping it close.
12/26 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 117, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Holmgren at 18 a game. 2 days' rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 111, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Edwards at 31 and Towns at 26 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the arc, Minnesota at 41 percent from three to OKC's 35 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 14 times a game to OKC's 11. Call it OKC 116, Minnesota 114, Minnesota keeping it close.
12/28 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 115, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Edwards at 29 and Towns at 20 a game. One day's rest. Dallas comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 118, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Dončić at 39 and Hardaway Jr. at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. Without Irving (10 straight), Kleber (23 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-4 a night and Dallas minus-9 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 16 times a game to Dallas's 10. Call it Minnesota 117, Dallas 113, Dallas keeping it close.
12/30 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 26 free throws a game; Edwards at 31 and Towns at 18 a game. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 120, shooting 50 percent and 43 from three, 19 free throws a game; Davis at 28 and James at 24 a game. Without Vincent (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 17 times a game to the Lakers' 12 and the line, where Minnesota takes 26 free throws a game to the Lakers' 19. Call it Minnesota 116, the Lakers 113, the Lakers keeping it close.
12/13 @ SAS 122-119 — LAL notes
LAL won 122-119. LAL shot 54% (49 of 91) to SAS's 47%, 14 of 35 from three. Davis led with 37 (13 of 23, 2 of 3 from three, 9 of 12 at the line); Prince added 17, Reaves 15. The hinge was Q1, 34-26: from level to 8 ahead, and the lead reached 20. Hachimura was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
12/15 @ SAS 115-129 — LAL notes
LAL lost 115-129. LAL shot 48% (43 of 89) to SAS's 49%, 11 of 36 from three, and went to the line 28 times to SAS's 19 — 18 points from the stripe to their 17. James led with 23 (7 of 17, 2 of 6 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); Reaves added 22, Hachimura 20. Q2 was theirs, 40-27, the deficit cut from 20 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 102-75 against them. James's -28 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/18 vs NYK 109-114 — LAL notes
LAL lost 109-114. LAL took 11 more shots (99 to 88), but shot 42% to NYK's 48%, 13 of 41 from three, and got to the line 13 times to NYK's 23. LAL turned it over 10 times to NYK's 15. The glass went 41-52 against them. Davis led with 32 (14 of 22); James added 25, Reaves 20. Q2 was theirs, 31-22, turning a 8-point deficit into a 1-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 92-78 against them. James's -13 in 39 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/20 @ CHI 108-124 — LAL notes
LAL lost 108-124. LAL shot 45% (42 of 94) to CHI's 55%, 12 of 37 from three. James led with 25 (10 of 18, 1 of 3 from three); Reaves added 21, Davis 19. Q2 was theirs, 33-28, the deficit cut from 11 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 96-75 against them. Reaves's -22 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/21 @ MIN 111-118 — LAL notes
LAL lost 111-118. LAL shot 49% (41 of 83) to MIN's 48%, 10 of 24 from three. Davis led with 31 (11 of 20, 8 of 9 at the line); Reaves added 20, Hachimura 18. Q2 was theirs, 27-27, but the other 3 periods went 91-84 against them. Reaves's -9 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/23 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 32 and Holmgren at 17 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 1-4 over their last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 121, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; Davis at 30 and James at 24 a game. That is 4 straight losses. They have lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it OKC 121, the Lakers 113.
12/25 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 1-4 over their last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 121, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 21 free throws a game; James at 28 and Davis at 27 a game. They have lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Vincent (2 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 43 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brown at 26 and Tatum at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and the Lakers minus-4 and the arc, Boston at 43 percent from three to the Lakers' 36. Call it Boston 120, the Lakers 114.
12/28 vs CHA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 1-4 over their last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 120, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Davis at 30 and James at 26 a game. They have lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Vincent (3 straight), Wood (2 straight). 2 days' rest. Charlotte comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 99 a night and allowing 122, shooting 43 percent and 24 from three, 16 free throws a game; Bridges at 18 and Rozier at 18 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Ball (13 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Lakers win, and the game turns on the arc, the Lakers at 39 percent from three to Charlotte's 24. Call it the Lakers 119, Charlotte 110.
12/30 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 26 free throws a game; Edwards at 31 and Towns at 18 a game. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 120, shooting 50 percent and 43 from three, 19 free throws a game; Davis at 28 and James at 24 a game. Without Vincent (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 17 times a game to the Lakers' 12 and the line, where Minnesota takes 26 free throws a game to the Lakers' 19. Call it Minnesota 116, the Lakers 113, the Lakers keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
MINAE A. Edwards
JM J. McDaniels
KA K. Anderson
KT K. Towns
MC M. Conley
NA N. Alexander-Walker
NR N. Reid
RG R. Gobert
TB T. Brown Jr.
LALAD A. Davis
AR A. Reaves
CR C. Reddish
CW C. Wood
DR D. Russell
JH J. Hayes
JV J. Vanderbilt
RH R. Hachimura
TP T. Prince
MIN/LAL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Timberwolves hand LeBron-less Lakers 4th straight loss, 118-111
MINNEAPOLIS -- — Anthony Edwards had 27 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past Los Angeles 118-111 on Thursday and hand the Lakers — with LeBron James sitting out on the second night of back-to-back games — their fourth straight loss.
The Wolves — also playing for a second straight night — tied Boston at 21-6 for the NBA 's best record.
“All credit to the guys for getting the win on a back-to-back. I know there might not have been a full tank for everyone, but that’s one of those games where if it goes 3 more minutes, we may lose it,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points for Minnesota before limping to the locker room for further examination on a lower-leg injury — Finch said Towns took a “bang” but had no update on his condition — with 5:07 left. By then, the Wolves were awake after a sleepy third quarter.
Mike Conley finished with 16 points, eight assists and two of the team's 13 steals and Rudy Gobert had 15 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks as the Wolves avoided consecutive losses for the first time this season and improved to 12-1 at home.
“We just use our depth and our size,” Conley said. "That can be overwhelming for certain teams at certain times, and it allows us to just be unpredictable every night.”
Anthony Davis had 31 points and eight rebounds, and Rui Hachimura — in the starting lineup with James out to rest tendinitis in his ankle — scored 18 points as the Lakers fell to 1-5 since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament . They're 15-14 overall and 5-11 on the road.
“We’ll break through this thing, once we get guys back healthy, get guys back in rhythm,” coach Darvin Ham said. “We’ll be OK.”
The Lakers have been in a mini-slump over the last 12 days, whether or not the lag was related to the investment of energy into winning the league's inaugural sideshow in Las Vegas on Dec. 9.
While James watched from the bench in a stocking hat and hooded sweatshirt, Davis powered through an ankle injury against one of the league's best groups of big men with Gobert, Towns and backup Naz Reid .
“It was a battle from start to finish and he showed why he is who he is, even in a loss,” Ham said. “He’s a pleasure to coach, man.”
Austin Reaves (18 points) provided a burst off the bench and Taurean Prince — one of three former Timberwolves in the rotation — hit all of four of his 3-pointers for the Lakers. D'Angelo Russell , who had only two points at Chicago on Wednesday and was in as deep in the rut as anyone, finished with 17 points and eight assists against his old team but shot 7 for 19 from the floor and lamented the lack of continuity afterward.
“We still haven’t even seen our postseason lineup that we were successful with last year," Russell said. “Every game feels like something new.”
The Wolves are allowing the fewest points per game in the league.
“Our defense is what we’ve got to hang our hat on,” Conley said.