MINNEAPOLIS — The Lakers came into Target Center without a win and had the league's worst offense. On top of that, they were without Anthony Davis, who missed the game because of lower back soreness.
Even with all the going in the Timberwolves' favor, Friday was still a brick-fest for most of the night.
The Wolves lacked the pacing they like on the offensive end most of the night but got key contributions from their best players in the second half of a 111-102 victory. Anthony Edwards (29 points) scored 16 in the third quarter to help the Wolves (4-2) break a tie at halftime and take a small lead headed into the fourth quarter.
Then Karl-Anthony Towns scored 14 of his 21 in the fourth quarter to give the Wolves some distance on the scoreboard. They led 94-84, their largest lead of the night, with 5 minutes, 42 seconds remaining. Behind LeBron James and his 28 points, the Lakers (0-5) never went away, even though they shot just 42% and committed 22 turnovers. The Wolves shot 41%.
Russell Westbrook, who came off the bench for the first time since his rookie season, had 18 points for Los Angeles.
Taurean Prince provided a necessary lift off the bench with 13 points and three steals to help the Wolves maintain their lead in the fourth.
But helping the Wolves seal it down the stretch was Rudy Gobert, who was a solid presence on the glass all night and had 22 points and 21 rebounds. Gobert had a dunk and a layup off an offensive rebound in the final 2:10 to help seal the game, leading to chants of "Rudy" from the crowd.
