Lakers beat Timberwolves in JJ Redick’s coaching debut as LeBron James, Bronny make history
LOS ANGELES — The Lakers’ 110-103 season-opening victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night was momentous for multiple reasons.
Star forward LeBron James and his son, Bronny, officially became the first father and son to play in an NBA game simultaneously – let alone as teammates.
It marked the first time the Lakers have won their season opener since 2016.
And the victory at Crypto.com Arena was the Lakers’ first under first-time head coach JJ Redick, whose impact was felt from the onset with the team’s style of play and hustle.
“Our guys really did a phenomenal job of executing our gameplan,” Redick said. “They competed all night. And that’s fun to coach when your team is competing at that level.”
Despite having a subpar shooting game (44.2% from the field, 5 of 30 on 3-pointers), the Lakers’ emphasis under Redick on being more structured and organized on both sides of the ball, as well as making efforts toward winning the possession battle, they were showcased.
“The gameplan, the schemes that he had on both ends of the floor, he trusts us,” Anthony Davis said. “We trust him, as far as what he teaches us, what he wants us to do on the floor on both ends and it’s our job to go execute it. We were very prepared.
“We executed the gameplan to a T. I’m not going to tell you the gameplan because I know Minnesota probably be watching this and figure out how to try to beat us next time. But our gameplan was elite and we executed it and was able to get the win.
Davis was the focal point offensively, even during late-game situations when the Lakers often found themselves not running the offense through him last season.
The All-Star big man finished with 36 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots and one steal in 38 minutes. He scored 11 points in the final seven minutes to help the Lakers close out the victory.
Counting his late assist to Rui Hachimura, Davis was directly responsible for 13 of the Lakers’ 18 points after subbing back into the game with 7:09 left.
“He is the main focal point for us offensively and defensively,” LeBron said. “And we got to make sure we continue to get him involved. The coaching staff and JJ, they do a great job of always putting him in positions where he is a recipient of the offense. And when AD has it going, it’s our job as the ball handlers to continue to feed them, find them. And AD did what AD does.”
Davis’ scoring total was the most by a Laker in the season opener since Kobe Bryant in 2007 (45 points). Tuesday was Davis’ 100th 25-point, 15-rebound game of his career.
“AD was phenomenal,” Redick said. “Felt like he attacked the game the right way. He just plays the game the right way.”
Hachimura played with a ferocity and aggressiveness that he didn’t consistently display last season, finishing with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
The Lakers had three more offensive rebounds (15-12) and nine fewer turnovers (7-16) than the Timberwolves, helping give them an advantage in field goals attempted (95-85) while only taking two fewer free throws than Minnesota (25 -27).
“The very first thing I said to our team – we have to be better at the possession battle, here’s how,” Redick said. “And they did that. Minnesota, the least amount of turnovers they forced last year was eight and we came in with seven. Obviously, the offensive rebounds was a huge part. We put ourselves in a position to win a basketball game because of that “We can offset bad shooting nights from 3 if we have more possessions.”
LeBron finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Austin Reaves (12 points, nine rebounds, four assists) and Jaxson Hayes (10 points, four rebounds) also scored in double figures. First-round draft pick Dalton Knecht scored five points in his NBA debut.
The Lakers finished with 72 points in the paint, 30 more than Minnesota. Fifty-nine of the Lakers’ 65 attempted 2-pointers were inside the paint. The Lakers shot 5 of 30 from beyond the arc.
“We were able to get good shots in the paint,” Redick said. “You can want to shoot a lot of 3s, but if you’re getting good shots in the paint, that’s good offense for us. Particularly with the players we have that are taking those shots: AR, D-Lo, Bron and AD Obviously, Rui was great. The painting was open the second half.”
LeBron and Bronny made history in the second quarter when they checked into the game together with four minutes left in the first half.
“Being at the scorer’s table together and checking in together, something I will never forget,” LeBron said. “No matter how old I get, no matter how my memory may fade as I get older or whatever, I will never forget that moment.”
They played 2½ minutes on the court together.
“Tried not to focus on everything that’s going on around me and trying to focus on going in as a rookie and not trying to mess up,” Bronny said. “I totally did feel the energy and I appreciate the Laker Nation for showing the support for me and my dad.”
The Timberwolves were led by Anthony Edwards’ 27 points, six rebounds and three assists. Julius Randle had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Donte DiVincenzo had 10 points in their Minnesota debuts after the trade sending Karl-Anthony Towns to New York three weeks ago.
The Lakers will get a couple days off from gameplay before hosting back-to-back home games against the Phoenix Suns on Friday and the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.