Lifeless Lakers routed by Wolves on second night of back-to-back

Still shorthanded and on the second night of a back-to-back, the Lakers looked lifeless in a loss to the Timberwolves.

After grinding out a win in Utah on Sunday, the Lakers lacked energy and struggled on both ends of the floor, falling to the Wolves in a blowout, 109-80.

While D’Angelo Russell returned to the court along with Cam Reddish, Austin Reaves missed his second straight game while Jalen Hood-Schifino was also out after playing on Sunday.

Russell went 4-5 from behind the arc and ended the game with a team-high 20 points. Anthony Davis scored 12 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished five assists and had a block.

Lebron James ended with 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists in one of his worst showings of the season. Rui Hachimura scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting from the field.

Both teams tried to come out aggressive with their offense. Anthony Edwards struck first with a layup and Rui Hachimura lobbed a pass to LeBron for a layup. Neither team could find consistency from behind the arc, with LA making just one 3-pointer and Minnesota making two.

At the first timeout, the Wolves were on a 7-0 run to take a four-point lead. Los Angeles answered with D’Lo and AD, making it a one-point game. They were the team's leading scorers so far. There was a lot of back-and-forth basket trading between both teams.

At the end of the first, Minnesota was up two.

Armel Traoré converted on a layup to start the second. He also got a dunk on an assist from LeBron. Mike Conley knocked down his third 3-pointer of the game in response as the Timberwolves opened up a six-point lead.

D’Lo’s hot shooting from the first quarter continued with another 3-pointer. The Lakers were taking good shots but had trouble converting them. They were being careless with the ball and up to six turnovers already.

The Timberwolves extended their lead to 10. No matter how much the Lakers tried to cut the deficit, the Wolves maintained a lead.

D’Lo was still hot, knocking down another 3-pointer. He was nearly perfect from the field, going 5-6.

The Timberwolves extended their lead to 17 by heating up from behind the arc. At the end of the half, the Lakers shaved five points off the deficit and were down 12.

The Lakers did not start the second half how they’d hoped until Rui knocked down a midrange shot. Dalton Knecht got his first points with a dunk to make it a nine-point game. The lead ballooned to double-digits again, forcing the Lakers to call a timeout.

Minnesota’s lead was up to 14. The Lakers continued to struggle defensively, giving away easy dunks and 3-pointers. Their turnovers were atrocious and the team didn’t have enough good energy.

The entire quarter belonged to the Timberwolves. There wasn’t much good to talk about regarding the Lakers. At the end of the third, they were down 15.

Minnesota scored seven straight points after a dunk by LeBron to open the final frame. LeBron was having a rough game. He was still missing his 3-pointers and he was up to six turnovers. The Wolves’ defense was suffocating the Lakers.

As the lead continued to grow for the Wolves, the Lakers waved the white flag and emptied their bench.

Key Takeaways:

After a clean game last night, the Lakers were up to their careless habits again with 20 turnovers.

D’Lo was the only dependable player in this game, which made sense, considering he had the freshest legs.

Will we see LeBron hit another 3-pointer for the rest of the year? He’s been struggling heavily. Some of those misses have been abnormally off. It’s been a rough stretch.

The Lakers’ next game will be Wednesday against the Miami Heat at 4:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.