The 2024-25 NBA regular season is now officially underway. Two of the Western Conference’s most talked-about teams this offseason, the mighty Minnesota Timberwolves and the starry Los Angeles Lakers, squared off at Crypto.com Arena in downtown L.A.
Strangely, the biggest headline prior to the match was the fate of a non-rotation player.
That’s because raw rookie point guard Bronny James, eldest son of 20-time All-NBA Lakers superstar combo forward LeBron James, played next to his father for the first time in a game that counted. In so doing, the two generations of Jameses made league history, becoming the first-ever such tandem to occupy an NBA floor simultaneously. The two had already played together in three preseason contests, but those were exhibition bouts whose results ultimately didn’t matter.
Read more: Lakers’ LeBron and Bronny James Make NBA History
Bronny, who is clearly not a part of new head coach JJ Redick’s preferred rotation, cameoed for a scant 2:41 at the end of the first half, with the Lakers comfortably leading by double digits. He scored no points on 0-of-2 shooting and recorded just one stat, a rebound.
The story of the game, however, was a matchup between the two teams’ supposedly marquee All-Defensive Team centers, reigning Timberwolves four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and four-time All-Defensive Team Lakers center Anthony Davis.
Getty Images/Harry How
Considering Gobert was supposed to stifle Davis’ output, it was pretty impressive to see the Lakers’ nine-time All-Star obliterate him.
The 6-foot-10 big man out of Kentucky scored a game-high 36 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the floor (1-of-3 shooting from deep) and 13-of-15 shooting from the charity stripe, often baiting Gobert. Minnesota’s just-extended center was whistled for four fouls. Davis also pulled down a game-best 16 rebounds to Gobert’s 14, exhibiting a better acumen for reading angles off the glass.
Accordingly, the Lakers survived a late-game Timberwolves push and held on to win, 110-103.
Minnesota, led offensively by sharpshooting All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards, actually got off to the better start, winning the first quarter 23-22.
But that’s when the Timberwolves’ luck started to run out.
The Lakers seemingly broke the game wide open with a 23-6 run to open the second frame. Los Angeles led by as much as 19 points, thanks mostly to interior scoring from Davis and starting small forward Rui Hachimura. L.A. connected on a good-not-great 41.5 percent of its overall field goals in the first two quarters, but went just 3-of-19 from long range.
As often happens over the long course of a 48-minute contest, Los Angeles got tight in the second half, and the team’s struggles connecting on the deep ball started to haunt it against a tough, versatile Minnesota squad.
Although the aging LeBron James-Anthony Davis pairing is often overlooked these days as one of the most lethal duos in the league, their two-man game was strong Tuesday night, as evinced by this exquisite alley-oop from James to Davis for an easy flush.
Nevertheless, the Timberwolves chipped away at the Lakers’ advantage, outscoring L.A. 32-27 in the frame. By the end of the period, Minnesota was within single digits, trailing just 82-74.
With Redick playing a lineup of reserve center Jaxson Hayes, starters D’Angelo Russell, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, plus rookie shooting guard Dalton Knecht, the Timberwolves continued to chip away at L.A’s lead to kick off the fourth and final frame in regulation.
Minnesota — playing a two-big lineup anchored by Gobert and sixth man Naz Reid, plus All-Defensive small forward Jaden McDaniels, veteran starting point guard Mike Conley, and bench swingman Nickeil Alexander-Walker — quickly got within four points, 85-81. Redick called a quick timeout and swapped in starting shooting guard Austin Reaves for Knecht presumably for more ball handling. Redick interestingly tried to keep Hayes in for Davis as long as he could.
For the Timberwolves, McDaniels had gotten into foul trouble relatively early, recording five fouls in just 16 minutes. Minnesota head coach Chris Finch responded by leaning on reserve wings Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
The Timberwolves would go on to outscore the Lakers in the second half, 63-55, but Los Angeles managed to hold on long enough to record a win, behind the late-game heroics of James, Davis (who re-entered the game with 7:09 left in regulation) and Hachimura.
Hilariously, the Lakers enjoyed a lopsided advantage in points scored in the paint, 72-40.
Next up for the Lakers is another home matchup against a 2024 West playoff team, the loaded Phoenix Suns. James and Davis will host their former Team USA colleagues Kevin Durant and Devin Booker Friday.
On Thursday, the Timberwolves will square off against the new-look Sacramento Kings, who added six-time All-Star small forward DeMar DeRozan in a summer sign-and-trade.
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