Lakers fall to Wolves in preseason opener without Anthony Davis, LeBron James

The extremely shorthanded Lakers fought valiantly at times on Friday in their preseason opener, before falling to the Wolves.

Without LeBron James, Anthony Davis and any actual center depth, the shorthanded Lakers lost to the Wolves on Friday in their preseason opener, 124-107.

A streak game saw the Lakers start each half slow before going on energetic runs to get back into the game. The third quarter saw the Lakers get within a point but their only lead came very early in the first period.

Austin Reaves scored 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished seven dimes. D’Angelo Russell pitched in with 14 points and three assists.

Dalton Knecht dropped 16 points, going 7-12 from the field. Gabe Vincent had a great game off the bench, going 4-6 from the field for 11 points. Max Christie had 11 points and seven rebounds starting in place of LeBron James and Jalen Hood-Schifino dished out six assists with four points off the bench.

The game began with both teams building a mansion with bricked shots. The rust was very evident for LA until D’Lo scored their first bucket. Christie then scored and shouldered some of the offense. Knecht got his first minutes of action and looked good.

The Wolves’ newly acquired sharpshooter Donte DiVincenzo scored 11 points to put the visitors up by double digits. Minnesota’s offense picked up quite a bit and, at the end of the first, led by 13.

Not much changed for LA to start the second quarter. The Wolves were shooting 68% and the Lakers continued to struggle. Eventually, LA did start looking better offensively with Bronny creating a nice 3-pointer for Rui after blocking a shot in the previous play.

LA’s defense was not good, but their offense continued to pick up. Reaves was the first Laker to score in double digits. Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino helped LA continue to cut into the deficit with their productive minutes off the bench. By halftime, a 13-2 run had them only down nine.

The lead was back to double digits for the Wolves to start the second half. Minnesota picked up their offensive firepower while, in true Lakers form, the purple and gold were missing shots again. The lack of defense was a major reason the Wolves got so many shots to fall.

The Lakers scored seven straight points led by Reaves, who was doing a little bit of everything. D’Lo and Reaves were the only Lakers in double digits and looking like they were starting to find their form.

The deficit was back to single digits as the Lakers started chipping away at the Wolves’ lead on the shoulders of Reaves. Vincent connected on a layup and a free throw to cut the deficit to two. The Wolves went up four, but Vincent knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game.

The Lakers ended the quarter with bad defense and turnovers that helped the Wolves go up 95-88.

Knecht continued his nice offense with a quick 3-pointer to start the final frame before adding a fiery dunk. Armél Traoré and Kylor Kelley had productive minutes off the bench to help cut the deficit to four.

The Lakers continued their defensive struggles as Wolves rookie Rob Dillingham put the team on his back. A 12-0 Minnesota scoring run ended the Lakers hopes of starting the preseason with a win.

Bronny’s first basket came with the game winding down, much to the delight of the Lakers fans at the game.

Key Takeaways:

The defense was terrible tonight and will be something that should be heavily worked on throughout this preseason.

Turnovers are the Lakers’ Achilles heel every season and they start their preseason with 20.

Is it too early to start the Knecht Rookie of the Year talk?

Vincent will be a huge factor off the bench for this team. His energy, defense, and offense will provide the spark this team often lacks. He shifted this game positively once he started making his shots. It’ll be a big bounce-back season for him.

The Lakers’ next preseason game is Sunday against the Phoenix Suns at 6:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.