Lakers’ comeback attempt falls short against Timberwolves
MINNEAPOLIS — The phrase “a game of inches” is a sports cliché that encapsulated the Lakers’ 108-106 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday at Target Center.
After trailing by seven after a Mike Conley 3-pointer to put the Timberwolves up 107-100 with 35.1 seconds remaining, the Lakers started to piece together a run that made Minnesota fight to maintain its lead.
The freshly-turned 39-year-old LeBron James (26 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals in 39 minutes), who was battling through a non-COVID illness that had his status as questionable entering the matchup, made an and-1 turnaround jumper over Jaden McDaniels that cut the Lakers’ deficit to five.
McDaniels was also assessed a technical foul, with Austin Reaves making the technical free throw and James making his free throw to cut the Timberwolves’ lead to 107-104 with 30 seconds left.
Conley missed a 3-pointer on the Timberwolves’ next possession, with Anthony Davis (33 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and two blocks in 39 minutes) grabbing the defensive rebound and throwing a hitahead pass to James, who appeared to make a 3-pointer that would’ve tied the game at 107 with three seconds remaining.
But the officials on the floor ruled James’ shot a 2-pointer, saying his right foot was on the 3-point line, meaning the Timberwolves still had a 107-106 lead.
“It’s obvious it’s a 3,” James said. ‘My foot is behind the line. I mean, you can see the space in between the front of my foot and the 3-point line. There’s a space in between the front of my foot and the 3-point line.”
And even after a review, with James trying to show the officials that his foot was behind the line, the call stood, leaving James and the Lakers (17-16) confused and frustrated as they walked off the floor with their seventh loss in their last 10 games since winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament three weeks ago.
“It’s super frustrating in the sense of what the hell do we got replay for? What do we have replay for if even the replay gets it wrong? That is clear,” James said. “That is clear. Like, even if the shot is released and my foot is on the line afterward, it doesn’t matter.
“Once the shot is out of my hand, no matter where my foot lands, it’s from when I shot the ball and it’s clear. Everyone can see it. It doesn’t make sense.”
In the postgame pool report, Crew Chief Tony Brothers said: “The play was ruled a two-point field goal on the floor during live play. After video review, there wasn’t clear and conclusive evidence to overturn it from a two to a three, and that’s why it stood as a two-point field goal.”
The Lakers had to play the foul game from there, with Anthony Edwards (31 points, three blocks) making one of two free throws with one second remaining to give the Timberwolves (24-7) a two-point lead to keep the Lakers’ hopes alive.
But the Lakers didn’t capitalize on their final opportunity, with James not getting a shot off in time before the buzzer on their inbounds play.
“I thought I had a quick go, but when I turned, Rudy [Gobert] was right there,” James said. “So I tried to duck under it – 1.4 [seconds] is a lot of time but not as much time as I thought so I kind of misread that. But I’ll do a better job. I’ve been in that situation before. I could have caught it and shot it right away. But Ant was playing on the high side and as soon as I turned, Rudy was right there. I just got to be better with that though.”
Davis and James were the only players who scored in double figures for the Lakers, who shot 29.2% on 3s (7 of 24) and 42% (37 of 88) from the field.
“We had a bunch of looks,” coach Darvin Ham said, “that we normally make that we didn’t.”
James and Taurean Prince (nine points, 3-of-6 shooting on 3s) were the only Lakers who made a 3-pointer in the first three quarters, a 36-minute stretch where the Lakers made 3 of 16 shots from beyond the arc. Austin Reaves had nine points but on 2-of-11 shooting while Rui Hachimura had five points on 2-of-8 shooting off the bench. Christian Wood recorded seven points and five rebounds in 13 minutes. D’Angelo Russell finished with five points and three assists in 20 minutes off the bench before leaving the game with a tailbone contusion.
Naz Reid had 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting off the bench for the Timberwolves.
The Lakers will travel to New Orleans to play the Pelicans on Sunday to close out 2023.
“We have to fill our cups back up,” Ham said. “Can’t feel sorry for ourselves and get ready to jump on the plane and go face another tough matchup tomorrow in New Orleans.”