Los Angeles Lakers at Minnesota Timberwolves
· National Basketball AssociationLakers fend off Timberwolves on Austin Reaves' buzzer-beater for 116-115 win
Reaves matched his career high with 16 assists, Jake LaRavia had 27 points on 10-for-11 shooting, and DeAndre Ayton added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who built a 20-point late in the third quarter and were up 112-101 after a 3-pointer by Reaves with 4:01 left.
Julius Randle, who led the Wolves with 33 points, capped the furious rally by dropping in the go-ahead finger roll with 10.2 seconds left. Jaden McDaniels added 30 points and seven rebounds for the Wolves.
The star power of this game was considerably diminished with Luka Doncic and LeBron James sidelined for the Lakers and Anthony Edwards out for the Wolves. Reaves, who had a career-high 51 points in a win over Sacramento on Sunday and 41 points in defeat by Portland on Monday, has had something to say with his play about that.
Edwards plopped himself in the middle of the bench and chatted up just about anybody within earshot including some back-and-forth trash talk with LaRavia after a couple of his corner 3s.
The Lakers were hardly themselves, missing four of their five primary ballhandlers with Doncic, James, Marcus Smart and Gabe Vincent all injured. Backup center Jaxon Hayes returned from a knee injury that kept him out the last two games.
Reaves sure took care of that, flying all over the court to craftily work the pick-and-roll with Ayton or finding LaRavia or Dalton Knecht (15 points) when the defense converged on him.
Regular Season Series
LAL lead series 2-0
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 116 - 115 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 116 - 115 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
(00:00) [Lakers] REF-INITIATED REVIEW (CALL STANDS) | 116 - 115 |
| 4th 1.1 |  |
Austin Reaves makes 12-foot driving floating jump shot | 116 - 115 |
| 4th 6.6 |  |
Donte DiVincenzo enters the game for Bones Hyland | 114 - 115 |
Statistics
 LAL |
 MIN |
|
|---|---|---|
| 45-83 | FG | 41-82 |
| 54 | Field Goal % | 50 |
| 11-31 | 3PT | 15-30 |
| 35 | Three Point % | 50 |
| 15-22 | FT | 18-22 |
| 68 | Free Throw % | 82 |
| 40 | Rebounds | 34 |
| 11 | Offensive Rebounds | 9 |
| 29 | Defensive Rebounds | 25 |
| 34 | Assists | 30 |
| 6 | Steals | 8 |
| 5 | Blocks | 5 |
| 18 | Turnovers | 18 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 19 | Total Turnovers | 18 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 22 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 26 |
| 13 | Fast Break Points | 14 |
| 60 | Points in Paint | 44 |
| 22 | Fouls | 23 |
| 20 | Largest Lead | 9 |
Minnesota Timberwolves Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Donte DiVincenzo, G | Out | Sep 28 |
Los Angeles Lakers Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|
Game Information
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 15,308 · Capacity:
2026-27 Pacific Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Golden State |
0 | 0 | .000 | - | - |
 LA Clippers |
0 | 0 | .000 | - | - |
 LA Lakers |
0 | 0 | .000 | - | - |
 Phoenix |
0 | 0 | .000 | - | - |
 Sacramento |
0 | 0 | .000 | - | - |
2026-27 Northwest Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Denver |
- | 0 | - | 0 | 0 |
 Minnesota |
- | 0 | - | 0 | 0 |
 Portland |
- | 0 | - | 0 | 0 |
 Oklahoma City |
- | 0 | - | 0 | 0 |
 Utah |
- | 0 | - | 0 | 0 |
NBA News
Lakers' Ziaire Williams proposes to longtime girlfriend at Bruno Mars tour
The singer complemented the proposal during his second of five Inglewood shows.
LeBron James calls scrimmage 'great first step' for new-look 76ers
Throngs of fans waited in lines more than 10-deep to watch LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and the rest of the 76ers take part in Saturday's scrimmage.
Windy: Simmons could guard Wembanyama
Brian Windhorst believes a healthy Ben Simmons could defend anyone 1 through 5 on the court, including Victor Wembanyama
Sources: Grizzlies waive Jordan Hawkins weeks after Pels trade
The Memphis Grizzlies and guard Jordan Hawkins have agreed to part ways via waivers, allowing the 2023 lottery pick to find a new home in free agency, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.
NBA preseason buzz: Latest on trades, news and intel
The NBA regular season is less than a month away, and we're tracking all the news, deals, and trades across the league.