Anthony Davis, Lakers overtake Timberwolves in standings with dominant 2nd half

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Davis is playing like a man on a mission and the Lakers are happy to climb on his broad shoulders as they try to improve their playoff seeding and establish themselves as a legitimate contender.

Davis scored 17 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter and had 17 rebounds to lift the Lakers past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 123-111, on Friday night, leaping over the Wolves in the crowded Western Conference playoff race.

“You’ve got to have that one pivotal force that’s leading the charge, and in our case with this particular team here in the moment it’s A.D.,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “When he comes out and he’s aggressive and we’re feeding him and he’s not settling and he’s putting pressure on the paint, putting pressure on the rim, we find ourselves having a lot of success.”

LeBron James added 18 points and 10 rebounds and D’Angelo Russell had 12 points and 10 assists against his former team as the Lakers (39-38) won for the fifth time in six games to move into seventh place. They’re even with New Orleans, owning the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Pelicans.

“We’ve made some huge climbs, but we’re not finished,” said Davis, who had 38 points Wednesday in a victory over the Bulls in Chicago. “We’re hungry to not only make the playoffs but make some noise.”

The Lakers – who started the season 2-10 – have gone 9-4 since losing at home to the Wolves on March 3.

“We jumped on A.D.’s back, and he brought us home,” James said.

Mike Conley had 25 points on 7-for-11 shooting with seven assists before fouling out, and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 23 points for the Timberwolves (39-39), who dropped into ninth place. They entered the evening one game behind Golden State and the cut to avoid the four-team play-in tournament, with the Warriors tipping off later at home against San Antonio.

Davis, who rolled his left ankle in the third quarter, scored 12 straight points for the Lakers over a 3:52 span late in the fourth quarter to seal the steely comeback from a deficit that hit 13 points shortly after halftime. He made five baskets in a row with Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert on the bench, dominating on the glass, in the post and at the rim.

“He’s playing at a super high level right now,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said.

The Lakers took charge earlier with a 24-2 spurt over a 6:49 stretch of the third quarter with their defense in lockdown mode. Conley’s turn to rest on the bench during that run was ill-timed. Davis rolled his left ankle around the start of the Lakers surge, a breath-holding sequence that only seemed to energize the visitors.

“We started to turn the ball over, and the ball started to stick much more,” Gobert said. “We kind of lost our flow offensively, and it really affected our defense.”

The Wolves, whose bench was shortened without center Naz Reid and his broken wrist, were 2 for 14 from 3-point range in the third quarter and were outscored 35-18 in a discouraging stretch for a fired-up crowd that included Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson and Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov in courtside seats.

James has been rebuilding his stamina from the month-long absence to a torn tendon in his right foot, and the second time with this new starting lineup around him of Davis, Russell, Austin Reaves and Jarred Vanderbilt produced a second win to start this five-game road trip. The Lakers improved to 9-4 since losing at home to the Wolves on March 3. Davis had 38 points Wednesday in the win at Chicago.

“I’ll be in the lineup on Sunday, so that’s the best response I can have,” James said.

Davis, for his part, said he finished the game on adrenaline and would be fine to play on Sunday, too.

HELLO, D-LO

Russell, who was sent to his original team in a three-team trade with the Lakers and Utah on Feb. 8, was welcomed back to Target Center with a brief tribute video before the player intros. Russell played 173 games for the Timberwolves, the most among the four teams he’s been with.

“If you’re not here or you haven’t lived here or anything like that, then you’re not aware of how good of a city it is and a sports town, how committed fans are,” he told reporters at the morning shootaround.

WHISTLE STOP

Gobert ($25,000) and Finch ($15,000) were fined by the NBA earlier in the day for criticizing the officiating Wednesday after their loss at Phoenix when the Suns had 27 free-throw attempts and the Wolves had 12. This time, they went to the line 19 times – making 16 – and the Lakers had 30 tries.

TIP-INS

Lakers: Vanderbilt had 12 points. … Another former Wolves player, Malik Beasley, had three first-quarter 3-pointers.

Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards had 11 points on just 4-for-16 shooting. … Gobert had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Lakers play at Houston on Sunday at 4 p.m. PT.

AD in the Lakers W:

38 points
17 rebounds
2 blocks

Dominant. pic.twitter.com/ESulf5slwc

— NBA (@NBA) April 1, 2023

“I knew I was going to play regardless. Just that initial tweak — a little bit of pain.” Anthony Davis on his ankle roll and his 38-point performance against the #Twolves. pic.twitter.com/hCM7mRsIdI

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 1, 2023

"Sunday can't come fast enough for me." @KingJames says he expects to play Sunday against the Rockets and discusses the importance of getting the win tonight. pic.twitter.com/1NctQ2wgji

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 1, 2023

Darvin Ham on the #Lakers defense down the stretch, Anthony Davis' performance and an update on his ankle. pic.twitter.com/Mjpt0GQekD

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 1, 2023

"Y'all can't say nothing about 3… that dude came out, showed toughness." @Dloading praises Anthony Davis' resiliency after he rolled his ankle. @LakersReporter pic.twitter.com/y6Vx05u74v

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 1, 2023

.@JVando on the difference in the second half for the Lakers and their team chemistry. pic.twitter.com/L2VdKBAUJv

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 1, 2023