Anthony Davis Scores 50 Points, LA Lakers defeat Minnesota Timberwolves, 142-125

Ferocious Anthony Davis scored 50 points in his Lakers’ win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. AD was unstoppable for the rivals and the main reason why his purple and gold posted another confident victory 142-125.

The Eyebrow made 20 of his 29 shots from the field, and was perfect from the free-throw line, hitting 10 of 10. Throughout the game, his role was of the utmost importance for the hosts, who couldn’t break the feisty rivals all the way until few minutes before the end.

“I just wanted to come out, be aggressive and do what I can to help the team win,” said Davis.” My teammates did a good job finding me. Just staying into the rhythm and staying hot.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A99vZlx-Q5E

Minnesota was always close, even though the Lakers didn’t allow them to lose the lead. It happened once in the second period for the guests to be ahead, but the strong finish of the sequence and an 11-0 run of the Lakers brought their lead back. During that run, Davis scored 8 points and had 27 at the break missing just three of his 15 shots.

In the moments when Timberwolves took over the lead, their three-point shooting presented a huge weapon. Overall, they hit 15 downtown shots in 37 attempts, but the percentage was far better in those moments than it would be in the end.

Meanwhile, the hosts reached a 19-point lead in the third but didn’t keep it for too long with T-Wolves erasing the deficit in the finish of the frame. However, they couldn’t keep the same tempo until the end, and throughout the middle of the fourth, the Lakers would slowly pull away to take the win and stay on top of the league.

Besides 50 points, Davis also had 7 boards, 6 assists, and 4 steals.

“An old school performance … one for the ages,” Frank Vogel commented his player’s effort tonight.

LeBron James was superb also, and King dropped 32 buckets with 13 assists, whooting threes 6 for 8. James would reach four fouls already in the second period, which is why he spent only 28 minutes on the floor. Alex Caruso delivered 16 off the bench, while Danny Green scored 12 with 8 assists.

“He’s really improved his paint decisions. He’s a competent 3-point shooter, and knocking down more of those is (opening up) his drives,” Lakers’ head coach told the media about Caruso’s improvement over the past few weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nHfSlNQ2Pg

Minnesota’s starting five had balanced scoring. Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns dropped 19 each, but shooting threes 2 for 12. Josh Okogie had 18, and Robert Covington 16. Shabazz Napier had 13 off the bench. The Timberwolves had just 33 rebounds in this one, while on the other side, Lakers posted 41.

Their defense was terrible, as they allowed 58.5% shooting to the home team. Wolves themselves weren’t bad also, with 51.8%, but it wasn’t enough to post a victory.

The Lakers (21-3) will now head for a five-game road trip through the Eastern Conference. At first, the LAL meets the Orlando Magic at Florida, this Wednesday, and heads for Miami to dace the Heat already on Friday. Two days later, Frank Vogel’s guys are in Atlanta, and following that in Indiana. They would close the journey in Milwaukee against the No.1 team in the East, and the biggest rival for the first overall place in the NBA.

Minnesota (10-12) meets the Suns already tomorrow, before going Minneapolis for a three-game homestand. During that time, they will host the Jazz, Clippers, and the Pelicans.