The unfortunate fact for any team playing the Los Angeles Lakers for the rest of the season is that even if Luka Dončić is shooting 30%, you still have a whole LeBron James, and others, to worry about.
Despite their Slovenian star going 6-of-20 from the field, the Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-102 on Thursday, their fourth straight win. Dončić finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three turnovers.
A 30% shooting performance ranks as Dončić’s third-worst mark of the season. He still has yet to shoot 50% or better in a game for the Lakers, and four of his six worst shooting games of the season have occurred in his six games with L.A. And yet, the Lakers are 4-0 in those four games, while the Mavericks lost the other two games.
It was also a great night if you enjoy watching the Lakers shoot free throws, as there were 46 of them in this game, including 23 in the fourth quarter. Minnesota had 26 total.
The game started as a Lakers romp, with L.A. up by as many as 23 points, but cooled off from there and opened the door for the Timberwolves to cut the lead to three points in the fourth quarter. Let’s just say those free throws came in handy for the Lakers.
Both teams were short-handed entering the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves more so. Lakers starting power forward Rui Hachimura left the game in the third quarter with a left knee strain and was later announced to not be returning, then Anthony Edwards was ejected after picking up his second technical foul. He threw the ball into the crowd as he walked off, and is now facing a one-game suspension for his 16th tech of the season.
Minnesota had also been missing reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. Key reserve Donte DiVincenzo also might have hit a minutes limit while playing with a toe injury, as he didn’t appear in the game’s final six minutes.
The Lakers have now won 14 of their last 17 games, and are just one game back in the loss column from the Memphis Grizzlies for the second seed in the Western Conference.