On Sunday night, Los Angeles Lakers defeated Minnesota Timberwolves by a score of 98-86. The Lakers led by 20-18 at the end of the 1st quarter, by 22-19 in the 2nd quarter, by 27-25 in the third and by 29-24 during the last quarter. The Lakers coerced 17 turnovers during the game and committed 10 themselves. The Timberwolves shot 36.1 percent while the Lakers had 44.7 percent. Due to this win, the Lakers have recorded 13 victories in the previous 15 games. Now they have a 20-3 record and this is the second best in the National Basketball Association (NBA) behind Boston’s record of 22-2. This defeat was the ninth consecutive one for the Timberwolves. Also, on 8th December 2008 Kevin McHale started his second tenure as the head coach of the Timberwolves and since then this game is the fourth consecutive defeat of the team which is very disappointing for McHale. Currently, the Timberwolves have a record of 2-10 which is the second worst record in the NBA.

During the first quarter, the Lakers were leading by 7 points at one point of time and eventually their lead was reduced to 20-18. When the second quarter started, players of both teams could shoot 2 of 11 and thus in the initial 6 minutes they scored 5 points each. At this stage, the Lakers led by a score of 25-23. The next 5 points were scored by the Timberwolves. At this juncture, the Lakers exhibited a 17-9 run and as a consequence of the team led by a score of 42-37 at half time. In the initial 24 minutes, the Timberwolves had 13 turnovers to 6 for the Lakers. In the third quarter, when 6.5 minutes were remaining, the Timberwolves were actually leading by a score of 57-54. The team had scored continuous eight points to reach this position. Then, Luke Walton scored 5 consecutive points, Lamar Odom had a basket and Bryant displayed a 3-pointer. This resulted in a 7 point lead for the Lakers. For the remaining part of the third quarter, the Lakers were never surpassed by the Timberwolves. The score read 69-62 in favor of the Lakers before the fourth quarter started. While the fourth quarter was in progress, the Lakers were leading by a score of 76-70. Then, Bryant added 4 consecutive points and Ariza made a basket. When there were 4.5 minutes remaining in the final quarter, the Lakers pushed to a 12 point lead. After this the situation never seemed menacing for the Lakers.

The top scorer for the Lakers was Kobe Bryant with 26 points and 5 assists. The second best performer was Pau Gasol, who finished with statistics of 6 assists, 11 rebounds and 18 points. Andrew Bynum contributed 9 rebounds and 14 points. Similarly, Trevor Ariza also added 14 points. For the Timberwolves, a good performance was displayed by Al Jefferson. He contributed 13 rebounds and 20 points. Craig Smith exhibited 8 rebounds and 18 points. Ryan Gomes added 13 points.