Lakers at Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to downplay the distraction caused by Jimmy Butler's trade demand but are having a hard time coming together on the court. The Timberwolves will try to bounce back from a terrible effort and avoid a third straight setback when they host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
Minnesota was crushed 125-95 by the Milwaukee Bucks at home on Friday as Butler struggled to four points on 2-of-11 shooting in 24 minutes. "You know, distractions happen all the time in every industry," Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters after the loss. "So, when you lose focus you’re not going to perform up to your potential. … We have to guard against that. I think human nature says you have to guard against it if you study how this league works." James is trying to teach his new teammates how to play like champions and was encouraged despite another tight loss after a 110-106 setback in San Antonio on Saturday. "You use these experiences for the better," James told reporters. "I think we played very, very well tonight, besides that four-, five-minute point in the third quarter. We just offensively stalled and defensively weren’t in tune. Other than that, we played some really good basketball all the way down to the last possession."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBATV, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), FS North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (2-4): James is making some personal history with his new team and passed Shaquille O'Neal for the sixth-most made field goals (11,339) while passing Dirk Nowitzki and moving into sixth place (31,202) on the NBA career scoring list on Saturday. "Dirk has always been one of my favorite players, and I think Shaq is the most dominant player to ever play this game," James told reporters. "For me to be in the same conversation with those guys, in anything we’re talking about as far as basketball, it’s a tribute as far as just being humble and knowing where I come from." James is averaging 27.3 points, nine rebounds and 8.3 assists early in his first season with Los Angeles.
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (2-4): Butler is trying to be a solid teammate on the court for as long as he remains in Minnesota and was not happy with his performance at either end of the floor on Friday. "We let our offense dictate what our defense was going to do," Butler told reporters. "Speaking for myself, I can never let that happen. My entire career has always been my defense dictates my offense. So, bad one." Butler is averaging 20.6 points on 47.9 percent shooting despite the poor effort against the Bucks and leads the NBA at an average of 3.4 steals.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Timberwolves SF Andrew Wiggins (quad) missed the last two games and is questionable for Monday.
2. Los Angeles SF Brandon Ingram is eligible to return on Monday after serving a four-game suspension for fighting.
3. Minnesota took all four meetings last season.