Behind Luka Doncic, Lakers vie for season sweep of Timberwolves
The Lakers already have wrapped up the season series against the Minnesota Timberwolves and will try for a sweep of their Western Conference rivals in a matchup at Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
The teams have not met since the second week of the season in October. The Lakers defeated the Timberwolves in Los Angeles, 128-110, in the second game of the season for both teams and won again at Minneapolis, 116-115, five days later.
The Lakers' Luka Doncic scored 49 points in the Lakers' 18-point victory on Oct. 24. It remains his season-high point total.
The tiebreaker in the standings that the Lakers possess for already winning two of the three games could prove pivotal. The Timberwolves reside in third place in the conference, with the Lakers one game back in fifth.
Los Angeles recorded its fifth win in its past six games with a 110-97 victory at home over the New York Knicks on Sunday. Doncic collected 35 points and eight rebounds, and Austin Reaves added 25 points as LeBron James sat out with a left elbow contusion and left foot soreness.
Los Angeles led 97-74 with 10:33 remaining and did not see the advantage slip below double digits the rest of the way.
"I just thought we played hard, stuck to the game plan and competed," Reaves said. "That's what it came down to. I thought we played harder than them and we set the tone early and had a really good third quarter."
After failing to play the previous seven quarters for Los Angeles because of left knee soreness, center Deandre Ayton returned to grab eight rebounds in 20 minutes.
If James sits out Tuesday's game, he will have missed all three regular-season games against Minnesota after opening the season with sciatica.
The Timberwolves saw their five-game winning streak end with a 119-92 loss at home against the Orlando Magic on Saturday. Anthony Edwards scored 34 points, but Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVincenzo combined to go 0 of 15 from the floor.
Minnesota shot 35.7% from the field and 22.5% (9 of 40) from 3-point range for a season worst in both categories. It was the second-fewest points for the Timberwolves.
"I thought finishing around the rim was not good," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. "The 3s looked really deep, kind of like need-to-get-shots-up type 3s. ... There was no rhythm to the offense, really."
The Wolves were called for 21 fouls to 24 for the Magic, but Minnesota's Rudy Gobert said his team was complaining to the referees too much.
"We were not the team that we want to be mentally," Gobert said. "We have to be more resilient, whether it's bad calls or when the shots don't go in or when things don't go our way. Yeah, we gotta be tougher."
Edwards played only in the first scheduled game against the Lakers, scoring 31 points. He missed the game five days later amid a four-game absence because of a right hamstring strain.