LeBron James, Lakers Beat Timberwolves 112-104; Dennis Schroder Drops 24

The Los Angeles Lakers earned a 112-104 road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday at Target Center in Minneapolis.

LeBron James' 30-point, 13-rebound, seven-assist night paced the Lakers, who also got contributions from Dennis Schroder (24 points) and Montrezl Harrell (17).

Anthony Edwards, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, scored a career-high 28 points in addition to seven rebounds and five assists for the Timberwolves, who led the Lakers by four in the third quarter.

L.A. led by as many as 14 in the fourth, but Edwards hit a trio of three-pointers to help cut the deficit to 105-100 in the Lakers' favor with 3:28 left.

Minnesota had a pair of possessions to slash the lead even further under the three-minute mark, but they ended with an Edwards charge on the first and a pair of missed shots on the second. L.A. responded with a 7-0 run before Wolves guard Malik Beasley hit a game-ending three to pull Minnesota within single digits.

The Lakers played without seven-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis, who will be reevaluated in two to three weeks after suffering a right calf strain during L.A.'s 122-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

Minnesota point guard D'Angelo Russell, who has now missed four straight games, will be sidelined an additional four to six weeks due to arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body from his left knee, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

L.A. improved to 22-7 and moved one-and-a-half games behind the Utah Jazz for first in the Western Conference. The 7-21 Timberwolves are last in the West.

Notable Performances

Lakers G/F LeBron James: 30 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists

Lakers PG Dennis Schroder: 24 points, 4 steals, 3 assists

Lakers C Montrezl Harrell: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists

Timberwolves SF Anthony Edwards: 28 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists

Timberwolves C Karl-Anthony Towns: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists

Timberwolves PG Ricky Rubio: 13 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds

Schroder, Harrell Step Up in Davis' Absence

It's not easy to replace someone in an NBA lineup who averages 22.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game for one night, but doing so for an extended period of time is an even greater challenge.

That's the obstacle the Lakers must hurdle for the time being, with a date for Davis' return not yet set in stone.

They made it work Tuesday, albeit against the Western Conference's worst team by win-loss record. Still, it was Schroder and Harrell who got the job done to complement James.

Schroder did much of his work in the first half to help the Lakers keep pace with a tough Timberwolves team, scoring 14 first-half points.

He made all five of his field goals for 10 first-quarter points and started the third with a pair of buckets in the first few minutes, including this one from the baseline:

Schroder had 22 points through three quarters. He also finished with a game-high four steals.

As for Harrell, the big man did work on both ends. He finished off a pass in transition from James with a layup late in the third:

He also took care of business himself at one point with this steal and finish to put L.A. up 11 in the fourth:

Lakers reporter Mike Trudell gave a shoutout to Harrell after that one:

On a night where Minnesota hung tough, the Lakers needed some big-time performances outside James to seal this win. They got a pair from Schroder and Harrell, helping L.A. earn its 22nd win in 29 games this year.

Edwards Shines for T-Wolves

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft has struggled at times this season, notably making just 11 of 56 field goals during a five-game stretch in January. He shot 38.6 percent from the field overall entering Tuesday.

On defense, Edwards has encountered trouble as well, ranking second-last among 87 qualified small forwards in ESPN's defensive real plus-minus.

However, Edwards was fantastic on both ends Tuesday against the defending NBA champions.

Yes, the Lakers were missing one of their top two stars in Davis, but Edwards nearly helped Minnesota pull off a major upset on a night when the T-Wolves found out they'd be sans Russell for an extended period of time.

Edwards challenged Lakers center Marc Gasol and won on this left-handed finish:

Later on, Edwards got it done on both ends to help engineer a potential five-point swing. He stuffed a point-blank Schroder layup attempt and started a fast break that ended with a dish to Beasley for three:

To his credit, Edwards is not lacking in confidence whatsoever, and that showed when he drilled a three with James guarding him in the third:

Dan Devine of The Ringer offered his commentary on that one:

Thanks largely to Edwards, the T-Wolves went back-and-forth with the Lakers for three quarters, trailing by just two heading into the fourth.

The Lakers took over from there, but Edwards was undeterred, hitting three threes to keep Minnesota's hopes alive, including this one to cut the lead to five:

It wasn't meant to be for Minnesota, but this game was a moral victory for the T-Wolves, who hung tough with a great team.

Perhaps most importantly, it was a huge game for Edwards, who showcased just how good he can be. Henry Lake of WCCO Radio came away very impressed following the outing:

It's hard not to be. Edwards came into this game averaging 18.4 points on 45.0 percent shooting, 5.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steal in his last five.

It's clear that Edwards has found another gear and made great strides before the first half of the season is over, and now the rest of the league will be on notice.

What's Next?

The Lakers will begin a three-game homestand with a matchup against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET in Staples Center. Minnesota will host the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday at 8 p.m.