After the last few weeks in Timberwolves country, the team needed a night like Monday’s 109-80 win over the Lakers.

No team meetings, no bad body language, no worrisome postgame quotes from franchise leader Anthony Edwards. When Rudy Gobert faked a dribble handoff and dunked in the fourth quarter, smiles and laughter erupted on the bench. It was Gobert’s fourth of five dunks of the night en route to 17 points and 12 rebounds. Edwards was the first to come off the bench to greet him when the Lakers called a timeout, and Edwards was just able to enjoy the fourth quarter on a night in which he scored just eight points on 3-of-13.

“It’s fun when you win,” said coach Chris Finch. “I hope this is the start of another good run for us, but it’s up to us to keep it up. Guys are in good shape mentally. A lot of things were said in the locker room with great intent and meaning and the guys took that to heart while still maintaining a good camaraderie, spirit and positive attitude.”

The schedule helped the Wolves; They played on two rest days while the Lakers played at Utah on Sunday. But the Wolves held their opponents under 100 points for the second straight day, while their bench provided a crisp night on offense.

“We have big competitors in this locker room. So when you lose, of course you get frustrated,” Gobert said. “But it is true that you always have to have perspective and never lose perspective that it is basketball. We dedicate our lives to it, but it’s still basketball. We have to have fun when we go on the field.”

Julius Randle led the team with 18 points, but it was the bench that shined through and buried the Lakers when they were on the floor. Naz Reid had 15 points, as did Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Donte DiVincenzo had one of his best games since arriving in Minnesota with 11 points and nine assists. He made a concerted effort to help the Wolves in transition, knocking several teammates down for easy throws.

The Wolves led 20-7 on the fast break. Their defense looked more like the unit that took the floor a season ago than the one from the first two months of the season. LeBron James struggled for 10 points on 4-for-16 shooting, and Anthony Davis had 12 points on 4-for-14 shooting. Former Wolves guard D’Angelo Russell led the Lakers with 20 points and declined to speak to the media after the game.

“We’re building that trust factor,” DiVincenzo said. “I mean, Rudy was… great. It was him. We know we have his back when he goes and then we rotate out there and we’re really good when we’re flying around. They guard the first action, and now we guard the second, the third, the fourth action.”