The Lakers have the worst record of the Western Conference and only the 76ers have had fewer wins. But L.A was looking to notch its fourth victory of the season on Friday, as the Lakers faced the team directly above them in the standings, the Minnesota Timberwolves. As Byron Scott said, Minnesota is a club that "we know is going to come in here and look at [playing] us the way we're looking at them: A very winnable game."
Kobe Bryant misses game-winner, Lakers now worst in West
Kobe missed the buzzer-beater but it was the Lakers’ defense that was to blame for the loss to the shorthanded Timberwolves.
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The game between the two struggling teams was close throughout, with the Lakers in control for most of it but never able to pull away for good. Down the wire, the Wolves made a push and took the lead with a minute to go on a Thaddeus Young hook shot but Kobe Bryant tied it with a tough shot over a double-team. On the next trip down, Young was fouled and hit one of two to give Minnesota a one-point lead. The Lakers had the ball with two seconds left and a chance to win it. The ball, of course, was in Kobe's hands like it has been so many times before.
But on Friday he couldn’t deliver.
Kobe said that "(the shot) felt good, it was just a little short." Even opponents are so used to Kobe coming up big in the clutch that it surprises them when he misses. Zach LaVine, the Wolves rookie who had the best game of his career with 28 points and five assists off the bench, had this to say: "I was playing against my childhood idol and I'm really, really surprised he missed that shot."
Despite the miss Bryant had a great, efficient game with 26 points on 18 shots, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. It was the Lakers' defense what ultimately cost them the game. They allowed a Wolves team missing Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic to score 120 points, including 27 in the final quarter. Byron Scott wasn't happy about the effort level or the execution, according to the Los Angeles Times:
“We relaxed [in the fourth quarter] and that’s the game,” Scott said, stopping himself at times from cursing. “We made some bonehead plays.
“Bunch of mental mistakes, bunch of physical mistakes,” he said. “Lack of focus, simple as that.”
Kobe agreed:
“Lazy defense,” Bryant said. “We’re shooting ourselves in the foot.”
The Lakers have the worst defense in the league, allowing 114 points per 100 possessions. It’s hard to win many games with numbers like that. And the personnel just isn’t there to build a better D. The only reason they had a shot at their fourth win of the season on Friday is because the Timberwolves are equally incompetent at that end.
This nightmare season is not about wins for the Lakers. It’s about Kobe surpassing Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list, keeping their top-five protected pick and going into next season with the hope of nabbing a big-time free agent. But close losses like this one always hurt.
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