Minnesota vs. Los Angeles: Lakers Take Second-Half Control
A packed Target Center greeted its team Tuesday evening for a meeting against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Although the Timberwolves held their own—and sometimes the lead—throughout the first and second quarters, L.A. gained control in the second half to win the game, 90-79.
Rookie Wes Johnson led the pack with 20 points, followed by Michael Beasley with 14.
The game was a low-scoring one, as each team failed to shoot even 40 percent from the floor. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers, per usual, with 24 points, but Pau Gasol had a fairly quiet evening with 12 and Ron Artest added only six points over 34 minutes of play.
Bryant scored 20 of his points in the second half alone, and the Lakers also out rebounded Minnesota by a large margin, putting up 53 boards to the Wolves’ 39.
The Timberwolves fought hard throughout the entire contest. However, despite not having a high field-goal percentage, the Lakers continued to hit some difficult shots. They outscored Minnesota by nine and seven points in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
Head coach Kurt Rambis commented postgame, “It’s disheartening for our guys to do a good job on defense, scrambling, helping, doing everything, and then—how many times did (the Lakers) take a difficult shot and make it?”
Fans enjoyed seeing Anthony Randolph receive some playing time. Randolph was acquired from the Knicks last week. Rambis gave Randolph 14 minutes of playing time, and he responded with four points, four rebounds and an alley-oop from Ridnour impressive enough to make the highlight reel.
Looking at Minnesota’s lineup, Johnson put up the most impressive performance. Rambis challenged the rookie to guard a superstar in Bryant, and the young guard took his task seriously. He held Bryant to 2-of-8 from the field during the first half.
Unfortunately for the Timberwolves, Johnson fouled out and Bryant came back with a vengeance to seal the Lakers victory.
Following Tuesday’s loss, the Wolves head to Detroit for a 7 PM Wednesday tipoff.
