Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves shoots the ball while LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers defends in the second quarter at Target Center on March 16, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - One game after setting new franchise records in points scored by both a single player (Karl-Anthony Towns with 60) and as a team (149), the Minnesota Timberwolves improved to 41-30 with a 124-104 win over the L.A. Lakers at Target Center.
For just the second time since 2005, the Timberwolves have guaranteed themselves to not have a losing record in the regular season. The last time it happened was 2017-18, when Towns paired with Jimmy Butler for a playoff appearance, but it came with tension and friction.
Towns again led the Timberwolves with 30 points, followed by Anthony Edwards with 27 points and Pat Beverley with 18. But it wasn't just the fact that the Wolves beat the Lakers, it was how they did it. Edwards said post game it was all about "swag."
Patrick Beverley taunted the Lakers' bench, holding his hands to his nose and calling Russell Westbrook "trash." Karl-Anthony Towns rebounded a Westbrook air ball, looking up in the rafters confused and wondering where the wind gust came from. Towns waved goodbyes to the Lakers as he came off the floor in the fourth quarter with the game decided.
Fueled by a home crowd that was loud and ready to back a Timberwolves team that has won 16 of its last 21 games, Minnesota wasted no time giving them something to cheer about – dominating the first half and taking a 67-46 lead at the break. Edwards led the Wolves with 24 of his 27 points in the first half.
The Lakers made a run in the second and cut the deficit as close as four, but the Wolves eventually pulled away for the win. A competitive game provided a playoff-like atmosphere that could be a glimpse of a matchup in the not-so-distant future.
The Timberwolves remain in the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference, still 1.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the all-important No. 6 spot to avoid a play-in series. They're finding it hard to gain position on the similarly hot Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks.
But the team is nearly guaranteed a playoff spot at this point for the first time since the 2017-18 season – when they were led by Butler and Tom Thibodeau. This team feels different than that squad, and different than most since the team that went to the Western Conference Finals in 2004. They're confident, they enjoy being around each other and players step up when somebody goes down.
Case in point: Wednesday night. With Jaden McDaniels out indefinitely because of a bad ankle, Beverley, Taurean Prince and Jaylen Nowell combined for 41 points.
The Timberwolves host the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.