The Los Angeles Lakers will end 2023 with another back-to-back on the road. The first game is a repeat against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves beat the Lakers 109–106 in the end, even though it came down to the last few minutes.

LeBron James, who was 39 years old at the time, gave Los Angeles an early 6-4 lead with a deep jump shot in the lane. Early on, Anthony Davis led the offence with his energy in the paint. Around the middle of the first, he made a quick move on Rudy Gobert that gave the Lakers a 17-6 lead.

Minnesota came back strong with an 11-2 run, which was helped by a couple of clear calls against Los Angeles. But Davis made a lot of shots close to the basket, which put the Lakers ahead 31–29 at the half.

With a steal and slam at the start of the second, James took over the offence. He set up his teammates and made plays. The Timberwolves went on a 9-0 run without Davis, though, which made Darvin Ham call a timeout.

Anthony Edwards briefly put Minnesota ahead with a pair of layups. He came back into the game after tweaking his ankle and played for a while. Even though Davis played very well, L.A. was behind 61–57 at the half.

The first half was Davis’s only time he scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but he looked like he hurt his hip.

The Lakers got off to a slower start in the third quarter than they did in the first because their offence couldn’t get many good looks in the half-court. Davis’s scoring slowed down, but he stayed involved in offence as a playmaker.

Los Angeles’ offence stopped moving when they missed nine shots in a row, which gave Minnesota a bigger lead. The Lakers were down 82–77 going into the fourth, but Edwards and Reid were able to get to the basket several times.

After taking a hard fall when he got an offensive foul, D’Angelo Russell went back to the locker room.

To start the fourth, L.A.’s defence was much stronger, and Austin Reaves’ two free throws gave them a narrow 84-83 lead. A huge block by Davis on Jaden McDaniels got the crowd excited, but James missed his dunk try on the other end, so Davis couldn’t build on that.

When Edwards took over, he made tough jump shots that kept the Lakers from cutting into the lead. Davis made a tough 3-pointer while under a lot of pressure, but Mike Conley made one back that ended the purple and gold’s hopes of winning.

Late in the game, James made it interesting for L.A. by making a three-point play and then a long shot. But his foot was on the line, and the Lakers missed by a very small amount. A check showed that he may have been even further back than the queue, but the officials did not change the call.