Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Lakers Match Player Stats On Apr 09, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Apr 10, 2017

LOS ANGELES -- D'Angelo Russell's 3-pointer at the horn lifted the Los Angeles Lakers to a 110-109 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday at Staples Center.

Russell's game-winner allowed the Lakers (25-55) to win four in a row for the first time in four seasons. It also negated a 41-point performance by Minnesota's Andrew Wiggins and 40 more by Karl-Anthony Towns.

Tyler Ennis led the Lakers with 20 points. Jordan Clarkson contributed 17, Russell had 16 and Julius Randle finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Larry Nance Jr. added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Two free throws by Randle gave the Lakers a 103-101 edge with 2:30 remaining, but Wiggins countered with two foul shots to tie the score 12 seconds later. After a Lakers' turnover, Towns muscled past Randle in the paint for a two-point Minnesota lead and followed it with a jumper for a 107-103 lead with 1:19 left

Clarkson's runner cut the margin to 53 seconds remaining, but Wiggins' layup boosted the Timberwolves to a four-point advantage with 33 seconds remaining.

Randle's basket sliced the deficit to 109-107 with 32 seconds remaining, setting up Russell's heroics.

The Timberwolves closed with a 21-7 run to end the second quarter and pulled within 53-51 of the Lakers at the break. Towns scored 15 points of his 25 first-half points in the period on 6-of-10 shooting. Towns and Wiggins (16 points) combined for 41 of the Timberwolves' first-half output.

In the third, Minnesota opened with a 9-0 surge for a 60-53 advantage after a three-point play by Wiggins less than four minutes into the quarter. However, the Lakers rallied. The two teams exchanged buckets during the final minutes of the quarter before the Timberwolves grabbed a 79-78 lead heading into the final period.

NOTES: This was the third meeting between the two clubs since March 24. Both coaches believed the familiarity helped enhance the intensity. "You're more familiar with the sets and there's nothing really new that needs to be talked about other than what we can do well from the last time," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "It's obviously not like a playoff series, but it's like that when you get into game three or four and every play that's being called you know what it is and makes it a lot more challenging, which is fun." ... Both teams resume play Tuesday. The Timberwolves host the Oklahoma City Thunder, while the Lakers play the New Orleans Pelicans at Staples Center.