On LeBron James’ 39th birthday, Saturday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves prevailed 108-106 thanks to 31 points from Anthony Edwards and 21 points from Naz Reid, who came off the bench.
Minnesota triumphed for the fourth time in five games despite committing 19 mistakes, led by Rudy Gobert’s 13 points and 13 rebounds. The Timberwolves have now won 14 games at home this season, with two of those victories coming against Los Angeles.
After the Lakers had cut the lead to one point each time, Edwards scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including two 3-pointers. With 35 seconds left, Mike Conley’s 3-pointer put Minnesota ahead 107–100. James spearheaded Los Angeles’ late rally, as the Wolves led 107-106 after his long jumper with 2.3 seconds remaining was judged a 2-pointer and verified on replay.
James missed the buzzer, while Edwards made just one of his two free shots.
Los Angeles, who had lost seven of ten games since winning the In-Season Tournament, was led by Anthony Davis, who finished with 33 points, 17 rebounds, and 8 assists. James contributed 26 points despite being doubtful for the game due to a non-C/O/V/I/D-19 sickness.
The Lakers took advantage of Minnesota’s mistakes to score 19 points, although they only shot 42% from the field and were 7 of 24 from three.
With a more expansive starting lineup for the fourth game, the Lakers harassed Minnesota early on, with Davis serving as the main man on both ends. With 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists in the first quarter, Davis helped Los Angeles lead by as many as 11.
Reid’s spark off the bench helped the Wolves’ shooting eventually catch up. The third big man in Minnesota responded to Karl-Anthony Towns’ struggles with two 3-pointers before dribbling his way to the basket for his points.
Reid made 8 of his 11 field goals in the end.
UP NEXT: Los Angeles: Complete a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon in New Orleans.
Timberwolves: On New Year’s Day, they play in New York.