The undermanned Lakers secured an impressive, 116-115 win over the Wolves on Wednesday night.
The Lakers were up by as many as 20 points against the Wolves, but trailed by one with 10.6 seconds left. In a last-chance effort to take the win, Reaves did just that with a shot right at the buzzer.
Jake LaRavia had his best game as a Laker, scoring 27 points with eight rebounds and two assists in 37 minutes of play. Reaves
ended with 28 points, 16 assists and two steals. Dalton Knecht pitched in with 15 points and two blocks in 36 minutes of play.
Deandre Ayton had 17 points with 10 rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes.
Rui Hachimura notched 17 points with five rebounds and four assists. Jarred Vanderbilt grabbed 12 rebounds with four assists in 26 minutes of play.
Los Angeles found themselves down by nine early. Minnesota was shooting 80% from behind the arc, a major reason why they had taken control of the game. Reaves tried to get everyone involved offensively, dishing two dimes. LaRavia and Hachimura both drained a 3-pointer.
The Lakers, though, had four turnovers quickly.
Reaves made his first field goal as the quarter was winding down, and he was also a perfect six for six from the charity stripe. L.A. finally found its offense, thanks to an impressive showing from Knecht, who had seven points.
Los Angeles was down by two at the end of the first.
Naz Reid opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer. The Lakers then scored four in a row, but the Timberwolves countered with six straight. Each time L.A. seemed to make it close, Minnesota had an answer.
Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels combined for 25 points, as the Lakers continued to struggle defending the duo.
The game was tied at the 4:41 mark, after a triple from Reaves. Los Angeles tightened up defensively, forcing Minnesota to miss shots they had been knocking down with ease in the first period.
Randle took over in the last minute of the game, scoring seven points. The Lakers countered with Reaves and Ayton combining for nine points to put the purple and gold up by three.
The second half started excellently for Los Angeles as they went up by seven. Hachimura and LaRavia combined for 10 points. L.A. was on a 9-2 scoring run. LaRavia scored another five points and was on a solo 8-0 scoring run. The Lakers’ lead grew to double figures.
Minnesota answered with six straight points to cut Los Angeles’ lead to single digits. LaRavia’s strong quarter continued as he scored another five points, pushing him to 24 points in the game. L.A. was back up by double digits.
Los Angeles allowed the Timberwolves to cut the once 20-point lead down to an 11-point lead heading into the fourth.
The final frame started spectacularly for L.A. as they continued to pour on the offense and looked good on all cylinders. LaRavia knocked down his fifth 3-pointer of the game. He was also 10 for 11 from the field.
Minnesota didn’t score a bucket until the 6:20 mark.
The Timberwolves started to show signs of life, getting closer to making it a single-digit deficit with 4:42 left. Nervous time hit for the Lakers as they allowed the Timberwolves to go on a 12-3 scoring run to make it a six-point game.
Ayton scored on a jumper to put some stop in Minnesota’s sudden burst of momentum. Five more points from the Timberwolves made it a one-possession game. A defensive breakdown made it a one-point game with under a minute left to play.
A layup from Randle put Minnesota up by one with 10.2 seconds left.
Reaves launched a jump shot from the paint to win it at the buzzer.
Key Takeaways:
What a great game from LaRavia and Knecht, both players stepped up and did a little bit of everything.
When the team can win with balanced scoring and not needing Reaves to score 40+, that’s a major confidence-building win.
L.A. dominated in the paint with 60 points to Minnesota’s 44.
The Lakers’ next matchup is Halloween night against the Memphis Grizzlies at 6:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
