Timberwolves rise to No. 1 spot in West with win over shorthanded Lakers

Naz Reid supplied 31 points and 11 rebounds, Anthony Edwards added 26 points and 8 assists, and the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves moved back into a tie for first place in the Western Conference with a 127-117 victory over the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, April 7 (Monday, April 8, Manila time).

Rudy Gobert finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 15 points as the Timberwolves (54-24) won after scoring a season-low 87 points in a road loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday.

Minnesota came out on top for the seventh time in nine games and is 11-5 since Karl-Anthony Towns went down with a knee injury in early March.

The Timberwolves, who have earned the No. 1 seed just once in franchise history, are tied for the top spot in the West with the defending champion Nuggets and own the tiebreaker between the teams. Minnesota pays Denver a visit on Wednesday.

Rui Hachimura scored 30 points and Jaxson Hayes notched 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who entered Sunday with nine victories in their previous 10 games amid a late-season surge that earned them at least a spot in the play-in tournament.

Los Angeles (45-34) was without LeBron James because of flu-like symptoms and did not have Anthony Davis after the first quarter after he took a blow from Kyle Anderson near his left eye as he scored on a dunk.

Spencer Dinwiddie had 18 points, D’Angelo Russell scored 15 points and dished out 11 assists, and Austin Reaves added 14 points for Los Angeles.

The Lakers led 37-33 after one quarter but were outscored 46-27 in the second without Davis to trail 79-64 at halftime. Minnesota shot 62.1% from the floor in the second quarter and outrebounded Los Angeles 14-8.

With a revamped game plan after halftime, the Lakers fashioned a 17-4 run in the third quarter to pull within 88-81 before the Timberwolves entered the final period with a 102-92 lead.

Minnesota went on a 12-2 run that started early in the fourth quarter, taking control to lead 120-100 with 5:37 remaining after a three-point play from Reid. – Rappler.com