LeBron James missed the last time the Lakers and Timberwolves played at Target Center just nine days before Saturday’s matchup, and he nearly missed this matchup as well.
A non-COVID illness made James a game-time decision on his 39th birthday, but he decided to give it a go for the paying customers instead of sitting out both trips to Minnesota this season.
That just made what came after all that much sweeter for the fans.
The Wolves came away with a 108-106 victory over the Lakers in a physical game that lasted nearly two and a half hours.
The Wolves seemed to be coasting to a win with a 107-100 lead when Jaden McDaniels fouled out and picked up a technical foul while James hit a bucket. That allowed a four-point possession for the Lakers with 31.1 seconds to play to make it a one-possession game, 107-104. Following a Mike Conley miss, James got the ball and sprinted down the floor, stopping at the left wing for a jumper. But after a replay review, officials ruled James’ foot was on the line, meaning the Wolves clung to a 107-106 lead with 2.3 seconds to play.
Anthony Edwards stepped to the line with 1.4 seconds to play and hit one of two. James never got off a final shot on the Lakers’ next possession and the Wolves came away with a win.
After struggling to shoot much of the second half, the Wolves hit a number down the stretch as their defense limited every other Laker not named James or Anthony Davis. They were the only two to finish in double figures for Los Angeles, Davis with 33 and James with 26.
Anthony Edwards finished with 31 for the Wolves while Naz Reid had a big game off the bench with 21 points to make up for a nine-point night from Karl-Anthony Towns.
Mike Conley added 15 for the Wolves.
The Wolves’ energy to start the night didn’t quite match the energy of the excited crowd, as the Lakers jumped out to a 17-6 lead in the first 4 minutes, 54 seconds. That included a four-turnover burst for the suddenly mistake-prone Wolves on offense.
But after a timeout, the Lakers got to their bench, and the Wolves got back in the game. They rebounded with a 10-2 run and eventually regained a 22-21 lead.
From the start, Davis was a handful for the Wolves to stop. He finished the first with a line that would be a good four quarters for most players: 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
He finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the first half.
Meanwhile, Towns was a -20 in the 12 minutes he played in the first half.
The Wolves got it together in the minutes he sat thanks to Reid. Reid’s 6-for-7, 16-point first half was a jolt of life for the Wolves.
The Wolves went on an 18-7 run that propelled them to a 61-57 halftime lead. Edwards had 15 in the first half after a brief injury scare when he came up limping following a layup.
The Wolves’ offense again struggled against the Lakers starters and only had a little success when the lineups started to blend. But the Wolves’ defense allowed them to grab a small lead after three. They held the Lakers to just 6-for-21 in the third quarter for an 82-77 lead headed into the fourth.
After the Wolves started the second half 1-for-10 from three-point range, Conley and Edwards hit threes on consecutive possessions to give the Wolves a 100-95 lead with three minutes to play before they held on for the win.