An historic night courtesy of Anthony Davis willed the Lakers to a 120-109 win over the Timberwolves in Los Angeles.
Despite being without All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns and Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner Rudy Gobert, Minnesota managed to hang with the Lakers for much of the night before a fourth quarter surge powered the home team to a crucial win.
Davis finished the night with 27 points, 25 rebounds (10 offensive), five assists, seven steals and three blocks on 9-of-17 shooting.
He becomes the first player in NBA history to put up 25+ points, 25+ rebounds, and 5+ steals in a game whilst also being the first Laker since Shaquille O’Neal in 2004 with a 25-25 game.
He was flanked by LeBron James (29 pts, 8 reb, 9 ast, 10/16 FG), Austin Reaves (19 pts, 6 reb, 7/13 FG), and Rui Hachimura (15 pts, 3/5 3P).
After a tight first half, the Lakers raced out to a 13-point lead mid-way through the third before surrendering a 20-3 run and falling behind to start the final frame.
They weathered the storm however outscoring the Timberwolves by a dozen in the fourth to claim their 12th win from their past 17.
The Lakers dominated the glass (56 to 38) and the paint (64 to 44) whilst finishing the night with 29 assists on 44 made shots.
Naz Reid (25 pts, 4 blk, 5/10 3P) was outstanding for Minnesota whilst Anthony Edwards (25 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast, 10/23 FG) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (15 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast) also proved key.
The Timberwolves are back at it on against the Clippers on Wednesday whilst the Lakers make the short trip up to Sacramento on Thursday.
