Anthony Edwards scored 23 points on 9-for-20 shooting, and the Minnesota Timberwolves held off the Los Angeles Lakers for a 97-87 victory on Friday night in Minneapolis.
Julius Randle added 21 points for Minnesota, which won five of its last six games. Jaden McDaniels scored 18 points, and Rudy Gobert recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Los Angeles, which has now lost eight of its last 11 games, never led in the game. Austin Reaves contributed 18 points, and Max Christie scored 15.
LeBron James was absent due to left foot soreness, marking only the second time this season the Lakers have played without him. James will turn 40 on Dec. 30.
Minnesota shot 40.2 percent (35 of 87) from the field and 28.1 percent (9 of 32) from three-point range. Los Angeles made 38.4 percent of their shots (33 of 86) and 28.6 percent (10 of 35) from beyond the arc.
The Lakers cut the Timberwolves’ lead to 87-82 with 2:33 left in the game. Davis hit a 3-pointer from 25 feet to reduce the gap to five points.
Minnesota responded with a 6-0 run to push their lead back to 11 points. McDaniels made a layup, Edwards hit three of four free throws, and Gobert made one of two free throws during the run.
Los Angeles never got closer than eight points after that.
The Timberwolves were ahead 77-66 at the end of the third quarter. Edwards scored 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the third, while no other player on either team scored more than five points in that period.
Minnesota led by as much as 14 points before halftime. Donte DiVincenzo hit a 3-pointer to give the Timberwolves a 32-18 lead with 1:04 left in the first quarter.
The Lakers closed the gap to 50-44 by halftime, with Reaves finishing the half with a 3-pointer assisted by Christie.
