After a six-game skid, the Lakers earned their 21st win of the season after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 130-119 in overtime.
Guard Jordan Clarkson reached a career high of 35 points. Forward Julius Randle earned 23 points and 12 rebounds.
“I think he’s been one of the more consistent guys all year because of how hard he plays,” Lakers head coach Luke Walton said about Clarkson. “When you play as hard as him, you’re gonna have more consistency and he never gets tired”
Walton also attributed the defensive prowess of bench players to the win. The efforts of the newly added players, guard Tyler Ennis, forward Corey Brewer and guard David Nwaba, pulled the Lakers out of their defensive slump in the third quarter.
Guard Andrew Wiggins led the night with 36 points, center Karl-Anthony Towns grabbed 13 rebounds, and guard Ricky Rubio earned 15 assists.
Nwaba also had a career high of 10 points and seven rebounds. Nwaba noted the Timberwolves persistent aggression
“They have a lot of on-balls moves, they know how to work well with the on-balls,” Nwaba said. “It’s just another team just looking to develop the young guys, just trying to build chemistry. On our end, we’re just trying to play together.”
The scrappy Timberwolves scored 40 points in the second quarter alone, their defensive stops kept the Lakers behind in the first half. By halftime, Minnesota had nine steals while the Lakers only had three.
The second quarter was a period for the bigs on both teams. Forward Larry Nance Jr. excited the crowd with two dunks, rookie forwards Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle shot a three-pointer each in consecutive possessions.
However, Towns contested the Laker with three dunks, ultimately scoring 12 points during that period.
Lakers were down by as much as 15 points in the third quarter, but cleaned up their act in the final 12 minutes. Clarkson made clutch shots and Brewer created opportunities to score.
The Timberwolves shot at 33 percent in overtime, allowing the Lakers to secure a 10-point lead and the victory.
