LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives against Jaden McDaniels #3 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the third quarter at Crypto.com Arena on January 02, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images/AFP
LeBron James scored 26 points and Malik Monk added 22 as the Los Angeles Lakers earned a 108-103 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday despite a significant rebounding disadvantage.
Russell Westbrook had 20 points for the Lakers, but had eight turnovers on a night when Los Angeles had 28 rebounds to 56 for Minnesota. The Lakers defeated the Timberwolves for the first time in three tries this season.
Two Lakers cutting…LeBron finds one of them!@Lakers 38@Timberwolves 34
Watch on League Pass: https://t.co/wVIrg3a7TL pic.twitter.com/lCdmJgWl8V
— NBA (@NBA) January 3, 2022
Los Angeles won for just the third time in its last nine games, a slide that started with a 110-92 loss at Minnesota on Dec. 17 when Los Angeles star Anthony Davis injured his knee. He has not played since.
Naz Reid scored a season-high 23 points and had 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who lost for the fifth time in their last six games. Reid was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Minnesota was without two of their three top scorers with Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell in COVID-19 protocol.
Anthony Edwards scored 18 points for the Timberwolves but had eight turnovers. Jaylen Nowell had 17 points as Minnesota lost its fourth-consecutive road game. Minnesota had 20 offensive rebounds to four for the Lakers.
Minnesota led 72-66 with 6:37 remaining in the third quarter before a 10-0 run by the Lakers gave them a 76-72 advantage. The Timberwolves led 80-78 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lakers used an 11-4 run midway through the fourth quarter to turn an 89-88 deficit into a 99-93 lead on a jump shot from Westbrook with 4:56 to play. After Minnesota pulled within 99-98 with 3:35 remaining, the Lakers went on an 8-2 run to take a 107-100 advantage into the final minute.
👌 MELO FOR 3+1 👌@Lakers up 5 late on League Pass: https://t.co/wVIrg3a7TL pic.twitter.com/h0AIAjd8DH
— NBA (@NBA) January 3, 2022
Avery Bradley and Carmelo Anthony each had 14 points for the Lakers, with Anthony scoring nine of those in the fourth quarter. James had seven rebounds and five assists, but was held under 30 points for the first time in eight games.
Malik Beasley scored 16 points for the Wolves, while Patrick Beverley had 12 with nine rebounds.