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So that's one way to end a 22-game winning streak over a team. The Los Angeles Lakers were bludgeoned to a bloody pulp in the first quarter by the Minnesota Timberwolves and could never crawl back into the game. The Wolves snap the Lakers' winning streak against the team that dated back to March 6, 2007 with a final score of 113-90.
This whole thing fell apart in the opening quarter as Minnesota opened the game engulfed in flames. They scored 47 points in the first 12 minutes of a professional basketball game. In Los Angeles. No back-to-back voodoonecessary.
Kevin Love scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He was locked in from beyond the arc, making four of his five three-point attempts. Kevin Martin joined in on the "Lakers get dominated by Kevins" game in the first quarter, scoring 16 points of his own. Ricky Rubio dished seven assists. All of this stat stuffing occurred in the first quarter alone.
Steve Nash played 7:56 through the first half and did not return for the second half, dealing with back issues. He finished the game with two points (0-3 from the field), three assists and one turnover.
The Lakers cut into Minnesota's lead through the third quarter and were down 14, but the Timberwolves pulled away in the fourth quarter to finish the job. Martin finished with a game-high 27 points while Love ended the night with a 25 point, 13 rebound double-double. The Wolves' cherry on top is a Ricky Rubio triple-double. Pau's fellow Spaniard had 12 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
The high-man on the Lakers was Steve Blake who was incredibly efficient. He put in 19 points on 11 field goals, going five-of-seven from deep. Pau Gasol had 11 points and 11 rebounds, finishing with a double-double.
Not a great way to start a series of games at home after a three-game road trip. The Lakers' defense failed them, Nash's back is acting up, and there's still little cohesion or consistency from this group of Lakers. Minnesota, another one of those non-playoff teams from last season expected to make a push for a bottom seed, improves to 5-2.