Los angeles lakers they seem to have found a way to win and it doesn’t include their pvots. The Angelenos added this Sunday their second victory in a row by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves (108-103) with a low quintet throughout the match in which LeBron James I returned to play five.
Without Anthony Davis injured and with some Dwight Howard y DeAndre Jordan who have not just found their niche, the Lakers have refugee in the “small ball” and for now it has served them to add some triumphs that they urgently need.
In any case, it was not a loose or overly convincing victory. The Lakers did not finish the game until the last minute and played with fire with their very poor rebound protection: the Wolves achieved 56 (20 of them offensive) compared to 28 of the premises.
LeBron James once again lead his own with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals on a night of a lot of physical exhaustion and in which I ended up playing 39 minutes.
Malik Monk (22 points) was James’s best companion, and Russell Westbrook (20 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists) He also did his part although he suffered a lot again with the losses of the ball (9 of the 15 in total for the Lakers in the whole game).
In Minnesota, the pvot Naz Reid put his boots in the paint (23 points and 11 rebounds) while Anthony Edwards (18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists) didn’t have a great day from the perimeter (0 of 6 on triples).
PROS AND CONS OF THE “BASS”
The Lakers took advantage of the agility and movement of their bass five to attack in transition and from the outside by resorting to LeBron James and Malik Monk.
However, the Wolves exposed the defensive limitations in the Los Angeles area and the pvot Naz Reid became strong in the inside game (12-10 with 6.41 on the clock).
Faced with the casualties of Karl-Anthony Towns y D’Angelo Russell Due to coronavirus, Anthony Edwards has had to assume – even more if possible – his status as star of the Wolves in the last games.
But although he tried to give a point of energy to the visiting offense, the Lakers, with a fairly active bench (Talen Horton-Tucker, Carmelo Anthony y Austin Reaves) controlled the first quarter (31-24) despite accumulating 5 losses of the ball (3 of them committed by Russell Westbrook).
The LeBron-Monk connection worked wonders with the Lakers figure at the helm and delivering passes from the high post.
The Wolves, meanwhile, continued to extract oil with Reid from injuries that the Lakers did not remedy before the break (57-54): the losses of the ball (11, 7 of them from Westbrook) and the lack of protection of the rim (the Minnesotans added 10 offensive rebounds in the first half).
The Lakers’ enormous problems in the defensive rebound continued in a third quarter in which the Wolves, with two 3-pointers from Malik Beasley y Patrick Beverley, they turned the scoreboard (61-65 with 9.17 to be played).
Frank Vogel He insisted on the Lakers’ bottom five despite the Wolves damaging the area over and over again, and Monk and Bradley restored his confidence with a great 10-0 run to regain dominance of the match (76-72 with 4.01 on the clock).
CARMELO’S APPEARANCE, DECISIVE
Edwards didn’t have a particularly shooting-inspired night, but with a layup placed his team ahead before the fourth quarter (78-80).
Jaylen Nowell, a real incentive as a reserve for the Wolves, he continued his good streak in the last quarter in which the Lakers, suddenly, realized that they had to get the batteries as soon as possible.
To the rescue came Anthony, very fine in the shot to regain command (93-91 with 7.11 to go).
Facing the ninth tight finish to their season, the Lakers bit down on defense, limited their losses (15 total vs. 23 for the Wolves), and took a deep breath after a providential additional triple from Anthony (103-98 with 3.07 in the watch).
The Wolves did not throw in the towel, but they lacked precision, calm and skill to overcome the Lakers at the conclusion of the duel.