After picking up a win at Utah on Sunday, the Lakers lacked energy and struggled on both ends of the floor, falling to the Wolves 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 also sat out after playing on Sunday.

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

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

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

Coming into the first timeout, the Wolves were up 7-0 and had a four-point lead. Los Angeles responded with D’Lo and AD, making it a one-point game. They have been the team’s top scorers so far. There was a lot of back and forth with the baskets between both teams.

At the end of the first period, Minnesota had a two-point lead.

Armel Traoré converted a layup to start the second half. He also got a dunk after an assist from LeBron. In response, Mike Conley hit his third three-pointer of the game, giving the Timberwolves a six-point lead.

D’Lo’s hot shooting from the first quarter continued with another 3-pointer. The Lakers took good shots but had trouble converting them. They handled the ball carelessly and lost the ball up to six times.

The Timberwolves extended their lead to 10. No matter how hard the Lakers tried to reduce the deficit, the Wolves maintained their lead.

D’Lo was still hot and hit another 3-pointer. He was almost perfect from the field at 5-6.

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

The Lakers didn’t start the second half as hoped until Rui knocked down a mid-range shot. Dalton Knecht scored his first points with a dunk and made it a nine-point game. The lead grew back into double digits, forcing the Lakers to call a timeout.

Minnesota’s lead was up to 14. The Lakers continued to struggle defensively, allowing easy dunks and 3-pointers. Their turnovers were terrible and the team lacked the necessary good energy.

The entire district belonged to the Timberwolves. There wasn’t much good to talk about when it came to the Lakers. At the end of the third round they were 15 points behind.

Minnesota scored seven straight points after a dunk from LeBron to open the final frame. LeBron had a tough game. He was still missing his 3-point shots and had up to six turnovers. The Wolves defense suffocated the Lakers.

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

Key Takeaways:

After a flawless game last night, the Lakers were back to their sloppy habit at 20 Sales.

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

Will LeBron make another 3-pointer the rest of the year? He’s struggling hard. Some of these misses were unusually wrong. It was a hard time.

The Lakers’ next game is against the Miami Heat on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.