Los Angeles Lakers survive a late surge by the Minnesota Timberwolves to squeak out a 111-100 win: NBA Recap
Los Angeles Lakers cruised past the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-100 here at the Target Center on Friday night, extending their winning streak over the Timberwolves to 20 games.
Pau Gasol started in place of the injured Dwight Howard and posted a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Kobe Bryant fell two assists shy of a triple double as he finished off with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists
for the night. Steve Nash contributed 17 points and 7 dimes as he end a perfect three of three from the three point land, while Antawn Jamison had 18 points coming off the bench.
Alexey Shved scored 18 points and dished out 6 assists coming off the bench while Derrick Williams had 15 points and 9 rebounds and Ricky Rubio had 9 points under his belt.
Los Angeles Lakers got off to a great start to the game; they went in front early in the period and remained ahead till the end of the quarter. Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant were red hot in the first period and extended their lead
to 37-24 by the end of the period.
Los Angeles kept up the pressure in the second period and kept increasing their advantage. They outscored the Timberwolves by 2 points to head into the locker room holding a 15 point advantage.
Wolves came back into the game in the third period; they started cutting the deficit and made it a four point game at one stage. But the Lakers stopped their charge midway in the third quarter and then outscored the wolves by two
in the final period to secure the win.
Lakers were outscored 46-38 in the paint but they out rebounded the wolves 17-8 on the night to secure the win.
"It's been a rough season so far, no way around it," said Gasol, who topped 20 points for just the third time this season. "Just stay with it, keep playing. You never know when things can change direction. Just play your game when
you're out there. Tonight I was able to start, play more minutes, get a good flow. It was a good game."
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