Lakers at Timberwolves
In their woeful 2016-17 campaign, the Los Angeles Lakers lost their final 13 road games and finished with just five victories away from home all season. The revamped Lakers have reversed that trend and can win their fourth straight road game when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
Reserves Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams combined for 44 points to lead Los Angeles to a 126-99 rout in New Orleans on Saturday. The Lakers, who buried 16-of-30 3-pointers and had a season-high 36 assists, have won five of their last six overall. Minnesota opened a four-game homestand with a 119-105 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday despite the return of point guard Ricky Rubio, who contributed seven points and six assists after missing five games with an elbow injury. Rubio averaged 14.3 points and 13.7 assists last season against the Lakers as the Timberwolves won two of three meetings.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), FSN North Plus (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (6-4): D'Angelo Russell finished with 22 points and six assists versus the Pelicans and shot better than 50 percent for the third straight game. Nick Young added 15 points while drilling 5-of-7 3-pointers and he has hit 12-of-22 from long range over the same three-game stretch. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles bench has provided the team's leading scorer in seven of its 10 contests, with Williams now averaging 16.4 points in only 23.4 minutes.
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (2-6): As Rubio works his way back into form, backup point guard Kris Dunn still is trying to find his way and in jeopardy of losing some minutes. The rookie was not necessarily expected to provide a great deal of scoring, but he is 4-of-22 from the floor over the last five games. Fellow reserve point man Tyus Jones has hit 6-of-11 3-pointers in a three-game span and has played 39 turnover-free minutes in the last two contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Lakers PF Julius Randle had a season-high eight assists versus New Orleans and has 13 in the last two games after handing out a total of 13 in the previous seven affairs.
2. Timberwolves SG Brandon Rush has been inactive in three straight contests.
3. Los Angeles C Timofey Mozgov is 9-of-10 from the field in the past two games.