Game ID: 22500019
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Los Angeles Lakers
Friday, October 24, 2025 at 10:00 PM ET
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAL 36 32 40 20 128MIN 40 23 31 16 110
LAL vs MIN ScoutingLAL vs 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.
LAL availability going into 10/21 · season opener
full strength
LAL availability going into 10/24 · 2 days' rest
full strength
LAL availability going into 10/26 · 1 day's rest
full strength
LAL availability going into 10/27 · back-to-backOUT Hayes missed 2 since 10/24, out tonight
NEW Hachimura 30 to 36 min over the last 3
NEW Ayton 27 to 34 min over the last 3
LAL availability going into 10/29 · 1 day's restOUT Dončić missed 2 since 10/26, out tonight
OUT Hayes missed 3 since 10/24, returns tonight: 13 min (71% of 18)
NEW Hachimura 30 to 36 min over the last 4
NEW Ayton 27 to 34 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 10/31 · 1 day's restOUT Dončić missed 3 since 10/26, returns tonight: 39 min (108% of 36)
OUT Smart missed 2 since 10/27, returns tonight: 35 min (118% of 29)
OUT Vincent missed 2 since 10/27, out tonight
OUT Kleber missed 2 since 10/27, out tonight
BACK Hayes back 10/29 after 3, 13 min since (71% of 18)
NEW Hachimura 30 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Ayton 27 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Vanderbilt 17 to 23 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 10/22 · season opener
full strength
MIN availability going into 10/24 · 1 day's rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 10/26 · 1 day's rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 10/27 · back-to-back
full strength
MIN availability going into 10/29 · 1 day's rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 11/01 · 2 days' restOUT Edwards missed 2 since 10/27, out tonight
OUT Clark missed 2 since 10/27, returns tonight: 19 min (148% of 13)
10/21 vs GSW 109-119 — LAL notes
LAL lost 109-119. LAL shot 55% (42 of 77) to GSW's 49%, 8 of 32 from three. Dončić led with 43 (17 of 27, 2 of 10 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); Reaves added 26, Ayton 10. Q2 was theirs, 32-27, the deficit cut from 6 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 92-77 against them. Reaves's -14 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/24 vs MIN 128-110 — LAL notes
LAL won 128-110. LAL shot 59% (45 of 76) to MIN's 47%, 12 of 29 from three, and went to the line 32 times to MIN's 21 — 26 points from the stripe to their 15. Dončić led with 49 (14 of 23, 5 of 12 from three, 16 of 19 at the line); Reaves added 25, Hachimura 23. The hinge was Q2, 32-23: LAL came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 5, and the lead reached 25. Smart was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
10/31 @ MEM — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Memphis comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 123, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 29 free throws a game; Morant at 23 and Jackson Jr. at 18 a game. Without Jackson (2 straight), Bassey (2 straight). One day's rest. The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 117, shooting 52 percent and 32 from three, 31 free throws a game; Reaves at 34 and Hachimura at 17 a game. Without Dončić (3 straight), Smart (2 straight), Vincent (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Memphis wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, the Lakers giving it away 17 times a game to Memphis's 14 and the glass, where the Lakers have been plus-1 a night and Memphis minus-4. Call it Memphis 120, the Lakers 119, the Lakers keeping it close.
10/22 @ POR 118-114 — MIN notes
MIN won 118-114. MIN shot 49% (42 of 86) to POR's 40%, 15 of 30 from three, and got to the line 24 times to POR's 35. Edwards led with 41 (14 of 28, 5 of 10 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Randle added 19, McDaniels 18. The hinge was Q4, 30-19: MIN came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 4. MIN trailed 57-61 at the half and won the second half 61-53. Edwards was the night's best plus/minus at +9.
10/24 @ LAL 110-128 — MIN notes
MIN lost 110-128. MIN took 12 more shots (88 to 76), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 47% to LAL's 59%, 13 of 38 from three, and got to the line 21 times to LAL's 32. Edwards led with 31 (11 of 19, 3 of 6 from three, 6 of 9 at the line); Randle added 26, DiVincenzo 13. Q1 was theirs, 40-36, but the other 3 periods went 92-70 against them. They led by as many as 11. Edwards's -17 in 35 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/01 @ CHA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Charlotte comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 124, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 27 free throws a game; Ball at 24 and Sexton at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Miller (3 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Randle at 27 and Edwards at 26 a game. Without Edwards (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Charlotte wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Charlotte has been plus-7 a night and Minnesota minus-2. Call it Charlotte 123, Minnesota 118.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
MINAE A. Edwards
BH B. Hyland
DD D. DiVincenzo
JB J. Beringer
JC J. Clark
JI J. Ingles
JJ J. Juzang
JM J. McDaniels
JR J. Randle
LM L. Miller
MC M. Conley
NR N. Reid
RD R. Dillingham
RG R. Gobert
TS T. Shannon Jr.
LALAR A. Reaves
BJ B. James
CK C. Koloko
DA D. Ayton
DK D. Knecht
DO Doncic
GV G. Vincent
JL J. LaRavia
JV J. Vanderbilt
LD L. Dončić
MS M. Smart
RH R. Hachimura
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
Luka Doncic scores 49 to extend his sizzling season start in Lakers' 128-110 win over Timberwolves
LOS ANGELES -- — Luka Doncic scored 49 points and became the fourth player in NBA history to begin a season with back-to-back 40-point performances, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 128-110 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
Doncic followed his 43-point game in an opening-night loss to Golden State with his highest-scoring effort yet in a Lakers jersey, going 14 for 23 with five 3-pointers while adding 11 rebounds and eight assists.
The Slovenian superstar also made 16 of his 19 free throws, yet he missed his final two field goal attempts and a late free throw to fall just short of his eighth career 50-point game.
Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Anthony Davis have also started NBA seasons with a pair of 40-point games. Doncic was traded to LA for Davis last winter.
Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Julius Randle had 26 for Minnesota, which couldn't slow the Lakers' offense in a rematch of last season's first-round playoff series won in five games by the Wolves.
Austin Reaves added 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, while Rui Hachimura scored 23 and Deandre Ayton had 15 for the Lakers.
LeBron James watched from the Lakers’ bench while wearing the Arizona Wildcats jersey of his younger son, Bryce. The top scorer in NBA history is out until at least mid-November with sciatica.
Doncic mildly injured his groin in the Lakers' opener, and he hurt his left hand in the opening moments against Minnesota, grabbing at it repeatedly while bent over in pain.
He still scored 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting with four 3-pointers in the first quarter, matching Kobe Bryant and Kyle Kuzma for the Lakers' most prolific opening quarter in the past 30 years.
Doncic had 32 points by halftime, and he added seven quick points early in the fourth quarter as the Lakers pulled away by 20.
Bronny James made his season debut for the Lakers, playing the final 3:14.
Up next Timberwolves: Host Indiana on Sunday night.