Game Story
You’ve heard of Prime Time. But tonight was a different type of Prime Time. It was the first primetime NBA game on Amazon Prime. On a beautiful 70 degree Los Angeles evening, Crypto.com Arena was packed full of fans and stars. Dwyane Wade. Candace Parker. Justin Herbert. Even the Timberwolves very own Kevin Harlan! The Los Angeles Lakers may have been missing their biggest star in LeBron James, but no one remembered that just minutes into the game.
Luka Dončić made sure of that.
Dončić poured in an
eye-popping 23 points in the first 11 minutes of the game. Anthony Edwards responded to Dončić’s jawing with 14 points of his own. It was a fire fight right from the start. Both teams converted on over 56% of their field goal attempts which included a dueling seven of 14 mark from beyond the arc in just the first quarter.
The audience was in for a treat.
Minnesota held an advantage after the first quarter by hammering Los Angeles on the offensive glass and earning second chance points. That didn’t last long though, as the Lakers slowly but surely marched ahead in the next stanza. The defensive tenacity of the oft-injured Marcus Smart and Jarred Vanderbilt started to get under the collective skin of Timberwolves. Meanwhile, Dončić led a parade to the charity stripe as Minnesota spiraled into foul trouble. His point total tallied up to 32 by halftime as the Lakers led 67-63.
It was giving 2024 Western Conference Finals.
Julius Randle was having himself a solid night on the offensive end of the court, but it just wasn’t enough. The mountain of fouls that the Wolves racked up in the first half only grew larger in the third. They went from committing seven fouls in the second quarter, to 10 in the next. Four different Wolves had at least three personal fouls. It was an easy quarter for the Lakers, outscoring Minnesota by nine for the second straight quarter.
It was all academic from there.
The Wolves were getting slim to nothing from anyone not named Edwards or Randle. A 14-point deficit quickly ballooned as Dončić was getting whatever he wanted on the offensive end. Minnesota got thoroughly embarrassed as he hit an off-balance fading triple in a defenders face, then shimmied to the crowd as Finch called a timeout.
Not enough?
How about a just above the rim and-one dunk as he went tumbling into his own tunnel laughing. Both Rudy Gobert and Donte DiVincenzo spoke at length after the game about how their team let the offense effect the defense, resulting in poor effort and process. The Los Angeles crowd delighted in Minnesota’s demise, chanting for Bronny James with just under five minutes remaining in the game. He did end up playing and had one missed field goal to go with one personal foul.
The Timberwolves were run out of the the arena as Finch finally pulled the plug with 3:59 left in the gam down 23, putting in all the bench warmers. The mood in the locker room was rather muted, as multiple players mumbled about the foul calls against their favor. Jaden McDaniels murmured that the media wouldn’t want to hear him talk as he would “say all kinds of crazy things.”
They head home with their tail tucked between their legs.
Quick Hits
- The biggest team issue was the lack of ability to defend without fouling. Even with fouling, they were ineffective at containing the Dončić high ball-screen action.
- JJ Redick tried to pull some funny business as Dončić sat at 48 points, but remained on the court among eight other third-string players. He “earned” a foul and two free throws, but bricked the first one. The Wolves had some self-respect there, drawing the line at 49.
- What the hell has happened to Naz Reid and Mike Conley? We know about some of the terrible off the court tragedy that Reid suffered this summer, meanwhile there’s murmurs about the health of Conley. That said, they are vets who just cannot combine to go two of 12 from the field and combine for zero defense. They’re going to have to figure it out, but it does not look good right now.
- The discourse about Rob Dillingham is not going to go anywhere. He was essentially another DNP-Coach’s Decision again. To make matters even worse, he got popped in he face leading to a blood stoppage during his first minute of action. The medical staff was unable to get him back on the court and he ultimately played exactly one minute and one second tonight. Jon Krawczynski reported that Dillingham fractured his nose. Where do they go from here?
- Terrence Shannon Jr had a night to forget. He struggled on both ends of the court. He had a long thousand-yard stare in the locker room as he was clearly frustrated with his performance. Meanwhile, Jaylen Clark had a productive night despite being one of the many players to get deep into foul trouble. He’s playing confidently and has surely earned more minutes.
- Joan Beringer got his first minutes and points of his young career off a massive Bones Hyland lob. It was an awe-inspiring play that deserves to be highlighted in an otherwise forgetful night.
Highlights
Box Score
Comment of the Night
Up Next
The Wolves will spend the night in Los Angeles before finally heading back to Minnesota for their home opener against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, October 26th at 6:00 PM CT. Though the Pacers will be without the services of Tyrese Haliburton, they will likely continue to be a thorn in the Wolves side with their (sorry) pace. Catch the game on FanDuel Sports Network – North.
