Lakers start fast, hang on for victory behind LeBron

The Lakers escaped with the win after a valiant comeback attempt in the second half from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Lakers' blistering first quarter was enough to allow them to hang on against the Wolves on Thursday and win 111-102.

The Lakers led 33-17 after the first frame and led by as many as 23. The Wolves slowly chipped away at the lead throughout the remainder of the game but never got closer than three points.

LeBron James ended with 33 points, 17 rebounds, six assists, and a steal. Luka Dončić struggled mightily with his shot, going 6-20 from the field, but still scored 21 points to go with his 13 rebounds and five assists. Austin Reaves pitched in with 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and a steal.

Jaxson Hayes scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Off the bench, Jarred Vanderbilt had five points and Jordan Goodwin had seven points.

It was a three-point party to start with both teams knocking down quick long-range efforts. Following that, Luka connected with Jaxson for a dunk.

Luka was doing everything, including throwing a long outlet pass to LeBron for a layup. LeBron also banked a 3-pointer. The Timberwolves were forced to call timeout as the Lakers continued to cook.

After the timeout, Luka completed a 3-point play. LeBron then drained another 3-pointer. Minnesota struggled to contain the dynamic duo of LeBron and Luka as the latter was the first Laker in double digits.

Vando knocked down a corner 3-pointer as he continues to improve from range each game. Jordan Goodwin got some playing time and converted on a layup off the assist from LeBron.

Los Angeles’ defense was on full display, not allowing the Wolves to reach 20 points in the quarter. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were up 16.

Minnesota started the quarter fast, scoring five points. However, that quickly didn’t matter as the Lakers continued their hot shooting. Rui knocked down his first three of the game and Jordan continued his excellent play, draining his own shot from beyond the arc.

The Wolves were shooting just 37% from the field, while Los Angeles sat at 60%.

LA’s lead jumped to 20, forcing a timeout by the visitors. LeBron knocked down his fourth 3-pointer of the game. Luka missed all four of his attempts from behind the arc, but was having an all-around nice game, grabbing rebounds and finding his teammates.

Austin had one of his usual plays of initiating the contact and throwing the ball into the hoop, then knocking down the free throw for the three-point play. Los Angeles maintained a big lead throughout the quarter.

Anthony Edwards eventually drained a 3-pointer, just his second made shot of the game. Minnesota inched closer with Los Angeles’ offense dipping. Vando threw an alley-oop to LeBron for a dunk, but Edwards then drained a 3-pointer to answer.

A long-range make from Minnesota’s Terrence Shannon Jr capped off a valiant effort by the Wolves to get back into the game. The Lakers struggled to close the quarter well, allowing the Timberwolves to cut the deficit to 11 at halftime.

Austin started the second half doing a bit of everything for the Lakers. He started with a floater, then on another play he tapped the ball to Rui who converted on a fastbreak dunk. Rui tweaked something on that play and went straight to the locker room.

Led by Ant's efforts, the Timberwolves again started inching closer with a 10-3 scoring run.

Austin was fouled from behind the arc and converted on all his free throws. Edwards was then ejected with 5:21 left in the third quarter after earning his second technical foul.

Luka continued to struggle from behind the arc, missing his seventh attempt. Goodwin made his defender dance and pulled up for a jump shot. LeBron put back a layup that he missed on the first attempt.

Donte DiVincenzo drained his second 3-pointer. Naz Reid, who was having a tough night, made his first bucket as the quarter was winding down.

At the end of the third, the Lakers were up 11.

The final frame started with LeBron finding Jaxson for the alley-oop dunk. Rob Dillingham answered with a jump shot. Austin was again fouled from behind the arc, making all three of his free throws. The Timberwolves tried to swarm LeBron to make him struggle with his shots but he fought through it most of the time.

After a Laker turnover, Shannon Jr. threw down an emphatic fastbreak dunk. Austin found Jaxson for what felt like his 45th alley-oop dunk of the night. Shannon Jr. was cooking the entire Lakers team, though, cutting the deficit to six.

Minnesota’s scoring run jumped to 11-0. Naz was awarded a technical foul for some choice words and Austin converted on the free throw. However, Vando missed both free throws from the original foul.

Jaden McDaniels then scored and made it a three-point deficit. Luka finally knocked down a shot after going cold for the quarter. The Lakers played chaotic basketball, turning the ball over and missing shots.

Luka drained the most Luka 3-pointer ever, beating the shot clock with a rainbow arc on his shot.

Shannon Jr. was up to 23 points for the Wolves and was the main reason why the team was able to get back into the game. Luka was fouled two separate times and made three of four free throws. LeBron did a spin and knocked down a jump shot.

The Wolves tried the foul game at the end but failed, sealing a win for the Lakers.

Key Takeaways:

LA had a great rebounding night, grabbing 68 to Minnesota’s 49.

You cannot let a talented Wolves team hang around, they will find ways to potentially steal the win.

This is an appreciation sentence for Jordan Goodwin, proving he deserves a permanent roster spot. His energy, hustle and passion are needed for this team every night.

Could we possibly be seeing Vando starting to get the superpower of a consistent corner three ball?

The Lakers’ next game will be against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday at 7:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.