Tired Lakers could also be shorthanded vs. rested Timberwolves

The Los Angeles Lakers will go for their second victory in as many nights when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday in Minneapolis.

Los Angeles is coming off a 105-104 win against the Utah Jazz on Sunday night in Salt Lake City. The Lakers did not have much time to celebrate before traveling more than 1,200 miles for their next game in less than a 24-hour time span.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis accounted for 53 of the Lakers’ 88 shot attempts on Sunday. James made 12 of 28 attempts and finished with 27 points, and Davis shot 13 of 25 and finished with 33 points.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said he wanted both players to take at least 25 shots.

“That was going to be our best offense tonight,” Redick said.

Los Angeles played without Austin Reaves (left pelvic bruise), Cam Reddish (illness), D’Angelo Russell (illness) and Jaxson Hayes (right ankle sprain). It is uncertain whether any member from that group will be able to play on Monday.

Minnesota is healthier and is aiming for back-to-back wins for the first time since Nov. 15-17. The Timberwolves are coming off a 93-92 home win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, which snapped a four-game losing streak.

Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards said he and his teammates focused on playing hard — and, in particular, guarding tough on defense — to snap the skid.

“Those are winning plays,” Edwards said. “We talked as a team how we want to win and change it around and get back to who we are defensively. Those are things we’ve got to do over and over and over again, no matter how tiring it is, how exhausting it is.

“As a group, after the game, I asked them: ‘How bad do we want to win? If we want to win, we’re going to do that stuff every game. We’re not going to do it one game and not do it the next game.'”

Edwards’ voice carries weight because he has established himself as the clear-cut No. 1 option on the roster. He leads the Timberwolves with 27.7 points per game to go along with 5.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

Julius Randle ranks second in scoring with 21.2 points per game for the Timberwolves. Naz Reid is third with 13.4 points per contest, and Rudy Gobert is averaging a double-double with 10.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.

Davis is the Lakers’ top scorer with 28.6 points per game. James is next with 22.6 points per game, and Reaves ranks third with an average of 16.7 points.

This is the second of three regular-season games between the Lakers and Timberwolves. They first met in the season opener Oct. 22 in Los Angeles, where the Lakers posted a 110-103 win.

Davis scored 36 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the teams’ first matchup of the season. James scored 16 points on 7-for-16 shooting.

Edwards scored 27 points on 10-for-25 shooting against the Lakers in the opener. Gobert notched a double-double with 13 points and 14 boards.

–Field Level Media