The Lakers had their chances late but fell to the Wolves on Friday, losing 97-87 in LeBron-less Minnesota.

Rui Hachimura missed a late clutch rebound with the team trailing by five points, D’Angelo Russell missed two open 3-pointers when the team trailed by seven points, and Anthony Davis and Rui failed to make it , grabbing a rebound while the team faced an eight-point deficit all in the final three minutes of the game.

Without LeBron James, Anthony Davis would have to slow down a bit. However, it wasn’t a great night for him as he finished the game with 23 points, 11 rebounds and one assist, but scored -22 in his 36 minutes. Austin Reaves was back in the starting lineup and scored 18 points with six rebounds and five helps.

Max Christie contributed 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal while he started in place of LeBron James. Dalton Knecht and Gabe Vincent each scored six points off the bench. Christian Koloko may not have scored, but he had three blocks, five rebounds and was +15 in 11 minutes.

The Lakers were remarkably sloppy that night, finishing with 21 Sales, including 11 in the first quarter.

Minnesota started the game quickly, leading by six, while Los Angeles struggled to get a shot. The offensive problems continued for the entire team until Max scored five points in a row, making it a one-point game.

The Wolves shot 50% from the field and continued to score goals to gain a lead of seven. AD got up to speed and scored three goals in a row from medium range. The Lakers piled up turnovers, one of which came from a slow inbound pass. To make matters worse, D’Angelo Russell committed three quick fouls.

At the end of the first period, Minnesota was ahead 32-23.

The second quarter began with another turnover for LA, bringing the total to 12. Austin started to heat up, scoring six points and cutting LA’s deficit to five. Minnesota looked terrible early in the quarter and the Lakers closed to within two points.

Minnesota missed 12 shots before finally tying the score at 1-1 and extending its lead to five. AD’s layup brought LA ​​within three points, but the Lakers couldn’t take the lead because the Wolves had an answer.

Neither team was able to establish a rhythm behind the arc, both only making two 3-point shots. The Lakers stepped up their defense, blocked some shots and limited their turnovers to just three in the quarter.

The Lakers were six points behind at halftime.

The Lakers began the second half with better shooting from behind the arc, hitting two 3-pointers. Former Laker prospect Julius Randle was up to 17 points for the Wolves, their leading scorer. The Lakers got closer again and nearly pulled to within two until Minnesota extended their lead to six.

Minnesota’s lead grew to 10 while Los Angeles struggled with scoring and defense. The Lakers missed a few open 3-point shots that they desperately needed. LA’s problems mounted and Wolves’ lead was now 15.

LA made a key run to make it a 10-point game. Los Angeles’ defense stepped up, AD blocking two shots. They had gotten as close as eight, but the Wolves regained their lead by 11 at the end of the third period.

Austin hit a three-pointer early in the final frame. He knocked down another and the purple and gold were within eight. Another 3-pointer, this time from Gabe, left the Lakers just five points behind, forcing a Minnesota timeout.

With six minutes left, LA started making mistakes, turning the ball over and missing five shots in a row. They fell into the bad habit of making unnecessary shots, mostly three-point shots, instead of playing intelligent basketball.

They didn’t make the right plays down the stretch and made terrible mistakes on their rebounds.

Key Takeaways:

Stop turning the ball over!

Maybe if they had LeBron tonight they could have taken the lead a few times.

The mistakes, the negligence and the fluctuations cost them every time.

LA takes way too many 3-point shots that they don’t make automatically. You have to play smart basketball. You don’t always have to shoot three-pointers when things are tough as a team behind the arc.

The Lakers’ next game is against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.