The Minnesota Timberwolves had been in Los Angeles for almost 72 hours, arriving to California the night they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in an overtime thriller. Head Coach Chris Finch appeared in an in-studio interview with Fox Sports Colin Cowherd. Nickeil Alexander-Walker got an exclusive interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews.

They all soaked in the warm 80 degree weather while basking in the glory of their feat.

Perhaps that time would’ve been better spent hammering home their defensive gameplan against the Lakers. Right from the jump, Los Angeles offense picked apart Minnesota. In transition, Luka Dončić and LeBron James kept looking for hit-ahead passes, generating easy looks. Meanwhile in the halfcourt, the pair of superstars easily swung the ball and found wide open gaps in the Wolves rotations (or lack thereof).

In less than half the quarter, the Wolves were staring down the barrel of yet another early double-digit deficit.

With just under three minutes left in the first quarter, Finch had enough and began throwing stuff at the wall (Figuratively). He ran a unit of Rob Dillingham, Anthony Edwards, Nickeil-Alexander-Walker, Donte DiVincenzo, and Terrence Shannon Jr. out there. It didn’t really work, as it only further compounded their rebounding issues. Both James and Dončić each had 10 or more points in the opening quarter, while the leading scorer for Minnesota was Edwards with a whopping four points.

The Middle — Sensitive Officials

Though the Lakers had a strong field goal percentage in the first quarter, they shot just 4 of 12 from perimeter. That changed quickly in the next period, as they knocked down four straight triples to rip the game open to a 23-point lead.

Dončić and Reaves also led a parade to the free throw line, baiting the Wolves into a number of poor decision fouls. At one point, Dončić was laughing at his defenders for their lack of discipline. On the other end of the court, Jaden McDaniels continued to struggle making open threes, but Shannon’s aggression attacking the paint and a mini Edwards burst helped Minnesota maintain a pulse, however faint (More on the former later).

An 11-point Laker lead at halftime felt merciful, as they were mostly getting whatever they wanted on offense. Just when the Wolves looked like they were ready to make a move thanks to some impressive shot-making by Alexander-Walker and Edwards, the most predictable thing happened.

The officials inserted themselves into the game.

Edwards was tossed from the game, just like the ball he threw into the stands after the call. Due to an end of first quarter “dust-up” between Edwards and his former teammate, Jarred Vanderbilt, it was his second tech. To make matters even worse, if they stand, Edwards will be at 16 technicals for the season and be automatically suspended for their next game against the Jazz. Mike Conley shared in the post game media availability that Edwards did apologize to the team.

Regardless, it was still a ridiculously sensitive move by Brent Barnaky.

The referee Crew Chief, James Williams, said after the game, “Edwards was issued his second unsportsmanlike technical foul for directing profanity towards the game official.” If this is the case, then players like Dončić or Draymond Green would never play a full NBA game.

The Finish — Comeback Comes Up Short

Still somehow only down 11 to start the final frame, it looked like things could’ve been over quickly. Jaxson Hayes finished a big alley-oop, then was followed by Austin Reaves getting (another) very favorable foul call on a three-point attempt. Finch challenged it and loss.

However. “They have the officials, but we have TJ Shannon,” is how the famous quote goes, I believe.

Shannon put on an absolutely clinic, attacking fearlessly and recklessly into the paint. The Lakers crowd was in awe as he pierced through the LA defense in transition over and over again. He would finish the game with a team-high 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting. DiVincenzo was a positive factor in his limited minutes during this time too, putting up 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists to go along with a team-best +/- of +25. McDaniels, who was still ice cold from perimeter, joined the party as well. Shannon and McDaniels combined for 20 points in the fourth quarter including a rare McDaniels triple, miraculously cutting the score to 96-100 and 3:03 remaining in the game.

They would never get any closer.

Remember Mr. Barnaky, who ejected Edwards earlier in the game? He made sure to remind Minnesota that he was still present. Earlier in the fourth, he made sure to award another technical to Naz Reid. Then, as the Wolves were on the cusp of another epic comeback, he helped reward the Lakers with four more free throws to push the game out of reach.

The Lakers shot 46 free throws to the Wolves 26.

The Wolves were called for 29 fouls to the Lakers 18.

Minnesota couldn’t recover from this deficit despite yet another feisty effort. It’s one thing to imagine what type of whistle you’ll be up against when LeBron James, Luka Dončić, and Austin Reaves, but it was certainly another thing to experience. To be quite honest, it’s fitting for a fan base that is largely made up of individuals who couldn’t name more than four players on their team to root for a team that was gift wrapped a future Hall of Famer to complete a Holy Trinity of foul beneficiaries. Even Mike Conley mentioned in the locker room after the game that the three of them get an incredible whistle, be it by skill or reputation.

This isn’t to let the Wolves off the hook for the loss tonight either. Naz Reid had a career-worst game, going 1 for 10 from the field, 1 for 2 from the charity stripe, three turnovers, and four “fouls” to boot. Edwards got thrown out just as he was percolating, but he also was not of much help early in the game when it initially got out of hand. Jaylen Clark, who got the start in his hometown, nearly put up a Tony Snell line in 17 minutes, if it were not for a lone three point make.

This loss now puts the Timberwolves down in 8th seed and tied with the Dallas Mavericks. The new look Golden State Warriors five-game win streak leapfrogs Minnesota as the 7th seed.

Game Highlights

Box Score

Lead Tracker

Comment of the Night

Up Next

Though this was the last game of the Wolves post-All-Star break gauntlet, it was just their first of a five games in seven night stretch. They had to catch a very late flight to fly East to visit the tanking Utah Jazz (14-44) on Friday, 2/27 at 8:30 PM CT.

Minnesota have only played Utah once this season so far, dominating them in a 25-point win on January 30th. That’s the game where Julius Randle went down with a groin injury, so will he make his return and get some retribution?