LOS ANGELES – It is not difficult to identify the worst team in the National Basketball Association so far this season. It comes down to the two teams who have yet to win a game – the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers – and the Lakers have lost one more than their fellow strugglers.
On Friday in Minneapolis, Rudy Gobert had 22 points and 21 rebounds for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who beat Los Angeles 111-102. The winless franchise have matched their worst start to a season since they also lost five in a row in 2014-15.
There was not much that Lakers star forward LeBron James could say after the loss, except that his team have to carry on fighting.
“I think our offence is harming us right now,” he said on ESPN. “Defensively, once again, we had a great game plan. We went out and competed, gave ourselves a chance.
“Couple possessions here, couple possessions there didn’t go our way, but just keep hammering on.”
Anthony Edwards scored 29 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Minnesota, who have won three of their past four games. James amassed 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Russell Westbrook had 18 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Lakers.
The 2020 NBA champions, who failed to make the play-offs last season, are also on track to match their worst start since 1957-58, when they dropped their first seven games.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham, who was without Anthony Davis because of lower back tightness, said his team’s 22 turnovers, leading to 25 Minnesota points, were unacceptable.
“When you give them 22 turnovers, 25 points, it’s very hard to win in this league,” he said.
Towns, meanwhile, said that having the belief to play as a team was key to victory for the Timberwolves.
“Keeping the game simple... just continuing to trust each other in the offence and do whatever the game is telling us to do,” he added.
Elsewhere, Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert became the first Cleveland teammates to score 40-plus points in the same game since 2016.
Their combined 82 points powered the visiting Cavaliers to a 132-123 win in overtime over the Boston Celtics.
Mitchell shot 15-of-26 from the floor, including five-of-nine from three-point range, on the way to his season-high 41 points. LeVert went 12-of-21 from the floor, six-of-eight beyond the arc, and 11-of-12 from the free-throw line to match Mitchell’s 41.
Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 30 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists as the Milwaukee Bucks led virtually the entire way, withstood a rocky finish and remained the only unbeaten side with a 119-108 home victory against the New York Knicks. REUTERS
