There are few better ways to end a six-game losing streak than with a resounding win at Staples Center, and that’s precisely what the Timberwolves have done. Finch’s team crushed by 83-107 some Lakers who, far from offering the fierce and quarrelsome image of their last nights despite the absence of LeBron James, sank in a resounding way in a second half in which the Minneapolis players passed over.
It was specifically in the third quarter when the Wolves were more overwhelming. During this period, the visitors signed a 12-40 partial with which they gradually opened the gap before the absolute inoperation of the Angelenos, turning what was an even game into a real beating. Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 18 of his 29 points in this quarter, was in charge of leading this section with several triples, some very difficult, each of which was another blow to the morale of a sunken Lakers.
The thing did not stop the period at the end, because in fact Minnesota continued to open the gap until the distance reached 33 points (64-97), at which point they slowed down and allowed Vogel’s men to slightly make up the result.
“We desperately needed something like that,” Finch acknowledged after the encounter. «In situations like this, the most common is that the party falls from the team that is most desperate. We had played well, but not regularly enough. It feels good to see how the shots are finally entering us ».
D’Angelo Russell, with 22 points and 7 assists, was Towns’ best squire, and his minutes on the court ended with a partial of +36 for the visitors. The Wolves did not even need stellar performances from many of their men to overwhelm their rival, as Anthony Edwards himself signed a discreet clash by staying at 9 points, but his lack of success had no negative consequences for his team.
In the Lakers, unlike on other occasions, the secondary players barely appeared, making the score fall almost exclusively on Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, authors of 22 and 20 points respectively. If in other meetings men like Carmelo Anthony or Malik Monk had given an important plus to the team, this time their contributions were conspicuous by their absence, leaving the Californians very short of production and causing them to be crushed without concessions.
“Of course, we are not going to win a ring the way we are playing,” Davis acknowledged. “We have to be much better and we have to decide what kind of team we want to be. A contender for the championship? Well right now we are not.
(Cover photo: Ronald Martínez / Getty Images)
