Five takeaways from the Lakers 110-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves
The last time the Lakers had a four-game winning streak, more than half of today’s team couldn’t legally drink alcohol and five of them couldn’t even vote yet.
That was April 2013 — it was the last time the Lakers made the playoffs.
This four-game winning streak started at a time when the Lakers could have used some losses. Phoenix keeps winning, and the Lakers had a real chance to improve their odds for a lottery pick. The Suns play their last game on Tuesday against the Kings, and the Lakers play their last two games on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Pelicans and the Warriors. Some lottery jockeying could still take place.
On Sunday, though, other things took precedence.
Here are five takeaways from the Lakers 110-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves:
1. It was an emotionally difficult night for D’Angelo Russell, who lost his paternal grandmother on Sunday. That could have amplified a problem he had for a lot of the season. When his shot wasn’t falling, that affected everything he did. But Russell showed his willingness to impact the game in other ways on Sunday. “He took a big charge on [Karl-Anthony] Towns down the stretch where he read him trying to roll down the post, jumped in front and gave up his body for a possession,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. “He fought Wiggins on a post-up, he had to shoot a fade-away and he missed. There’s little things that he continues to do that definitely show growth earlier in the season.”
2. Tyler Ennis scored another career high with 20 points. Ennis says he feels that he’s in a good position to take his shot at a bit of a more secure NBA future. “I had some older guys tell me everyone gets their shot, but you might not get another one,” Ennis said. “As long as you keep the faith, keep working, everything comes into fruition. I was lucky to come here, for me the perfect staff, perfect mix of players.”
3. Jordan Clarkson had a good shooting night. He was the Lakers’ second-leading scorer with 17 points and made seven of 13 shots.
4. Every time Metta World Peace had the ball, the fans cheered. Every time he seemed poised to shoot, they cheered louder. And any shot that went in caused an absolute eruption. World Peace took what could have been the game-winner with slightly less than five seconds left. Before he took it, though, he took a moment. “I wasn’t sure if I was behind the line so my legs started shaking like a dog because I didn’t know where it was,” he said. Clarkson had a different perspective. “I don’t know, his leg, he was shaking like stripper in the corner,” Clarkson said. “I didn’t know what he was gonna do. I was like, he gonna shot it? I’m looking like I see his leg, I’m like aw ... I know he’s made bigger shots than this.”
5. David Nwaba had hoped to play, but again did not. He played in D-Fenders playoff games on Thursday and Saturday, attending the Lakers game Friday, but not playing. Walton said pregame that he planned to talk to Nwaba before the game to see if he would be able to play. Of course, Nwaba’s words always say he’s ready to play, so Walton relies on Nwaba’s body language. He’s getting big minutes in the development league playoffs, and apparently Walton again thought better of playing him.
Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli
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