Lakers beat Timberwolves to climb up in the West.
MINNESOTA — The Lakers' second-half surge helped defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 113–105 on Friday behind Anthony Davis’ superb outing, scoring 20 of his total 38 points in the fourth.
With Friday’s win, the Lakers move one game over .500 with a 39–38 record, moving them to the 7th seed.
After hurting his left ankle in the third quarter and falling on the floor in pain, Anthony Davis found a way to toughen it out, immediately turning up his presence to dominance. Davis scored 18 of the Lakers' final 33 points in the fourth quarter while notching 17 rebounds and two blocks.
Head coach Darvin Ham spoke on Davis’ injury, saying he was good and powered through to continue for the rest of the game.
“Already started the process of trying to treat the twisted ankle,” said Ham.
Davis expressed that he is playing against the Rockets [on Sunday] despite hurting his ankle, saying, “Hell yeah.”
D’Angelo Russell gave praise to Davis after the win, saying his toughness shouldn’t be questioned.
Russell finished with 12 points and ten rebounds with a shooting percentage of 41% on 5-of-12 shooting.
After struggling all game to find his shot, LeBron James’ first three came deep in the fourth quarter to seal the win for the Lakers. LeBron finished with 18 points on 7-for-19 (37%) shooting from the field, ten rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and a steal in 32 minutes.
“It took a full team effort,” said LeBron.
The Lakers’ next matchup comes this Sunday against the Houston Rockets at 4:00 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet and NBA TV.
