The Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t avenge their earlier loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, falling 97-87 in another underwhelming NBA performance. Playing without LeBron James for the second straight game, the Lakers struggled to find rhythm, and despite Anthony Davis delivering a solid performance, turnovers plagued the team under head coach JJ Redick.
The Lakers turned the ball over 22 times compared to Minnesota’s 14. While they managed to convert those Minnesota errors into just 12 points, the Timberwolves, led by Anthony Edwards, capitalized on L.A.’s mistakes to score 27 points. The turnover disparity proved to be a decisive factor in the game.
After the game, Davis didn’t hold back when addressing the Lakers’ issues with ball security, emphasizing how difficult it is to win with such mistakes. “We had 22 turnovers,” Davis said via Spectrum SportsNet. “You can’t expect to win the game like that. We obviously need to take care of the basketball—that’s 22 plays where we didn’t get a shot on goal.”
“I think we did enough defensively, just didn’t do enough offensively,” Davis continued. “Turnovers played a big factor. They’re a team who wants to pressure and create turnovers, and we had 11 in the first quarter. We were able to combat that and give ourselves a chance to win, cut it to six and five. But overall, it’s tough to win a basketball game when you have 22 turnovers.”
Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers competes for a rebound against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the third quarter at Target Center. (David Berding/Getty Images)
Davis not worried about long-term turnover issues
Despite the team’s struggles in this game, turnovers haven’t been a recurring issue for the Lakers this season. In fact, the Lakers rank sixth in the NBA for fewest turnovers per game and 12th in opponent points off turnovers.
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Because of this, Davis remains unconcerned about the turnovers becoming a long-term problem. “I don’t think it’s a concern,” Davis explained. “We’ve been really good taking care of the basketball. Just turned it over tonight.”
Max Christie backs Davis’ optimism
Among the few bright spots in the Lakers’ tough outing, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and Max Christie were the only players to score in double figures, highlighting the team’s offensive struggles. Christie echoed Davis’ perspective, recognizing the turnovers as a problem but maintaining confidence in the team’s ability to bounce back.
“Tonight, turnovers were an issue,” Christie said. “Other nights, it can be other things offensively. But it’s just a little bump in the road that we gotta fix. We got enough firepower with the guys in this room that we know we can score 110 points a game like you said. So it’s just a blip for us, and we’re not concerned—it’s a long season.”
