After a victory this week over the best in the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves will take on another foe ahead of them in the conference standings when they hit the road to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
The Timberwolves come in after a 131-128 overtime road victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, a game in which Minnesota rallied from a 25-point deficit in the third quarter to force an extra period. They were even down 121-105 with 3:55 left in regulation.
Minnesota tied the franchise record for biggest comeback, first set in 1996 when they were down 25 against the Charlotte Hornets.
Jaden McDaniels scored 27 points with 10 rebounds and Naz Reid added 22 points and 11 boards as Minnesota shot 55.6 percent in the second half and 59.1 percent in the fourth quarter. They made all 22 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter and OT.
And the Timberwolves know they can be even better. The reaffirming victory came without Julius Randle (groin), Rudy Gobert (back) and Donte DiVincenzo (toe), while star Anthony Edwards gave what he could while playing with a calf strain.
The victory avenged a 130-123 home loss to Oklahoma City one day earlier.
“The Western Conference is so tight. … We’re undermanned right now,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “We’re just trying to stay afloat. Guys are scrapping, giving ourselves a chance every single night, and that’s what we want. It was a huge win for us.”
Edwards still had 17 points and 13 rebounds but was 1-of-6 from 3-point range and played just 3:30 in the fourth quarter and 1:48 of OT.
The Timberwolves made just one shot from the floor in nine attempts in overtime but went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final five minutes to seal the victory.
While Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 39 points, he had just six in the fourth and three in OT as Finch shifted his defense to a zone for long stretches.
The Lakers have been revived for a month now by going 13-3 since Jan. 21 and received a jolt during the stretch when Luka Doncic was acquired from the Dallas Mavericks for Anthony Davis and Max Christie.
The transition has been slow, with the Lakers going 3-2 since Doncic’s arrival. But the high-profile new addition had 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a road victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, then delivered a triple-double in a victory over his former squad on Tuesday.
Doncic had 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in the 107-99 home victory over the Mavericks, while adding three steals and two blocks. The overall numbers helped disguise the fact that he was 6-of-17 from the floor and just 1-of-7 from 3-point range.
“There were just a lot of emotions, honestly,” Doncic said. “I can’t even explain. It was a different game. Like I said, sometimes I don’t know what I was doing. I’m just glad it’s over, honestly.”
At age 40, LeBron James continues to do his part for the Lakers, collecting 27 points with 12 rebounds in 37 minutes of action against Dallas while also playing solid defense.
“LeBron’s playing at an All-NBA defense level,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said.
