Copyright startribune
LOS ANGELES – Donte DiVincenzo didn’t mince words when discussing the Timberwolves’ defensive performance in a 128-110 loss to the Lakers on Friday night. “That was embarrassing,” he said. “I think everybody here knows it. We have a higher standard than that. It’s Game 2, but we’ll ready to go on Sunday [against Indiana] for sure.” The Lakers were without LeBron James, as the 40-year-old is sidelined by a nerve injury that could also keep him out for Wednesday’s game at Target Center. But James’ absence was no issue Friday for Luka Doncic, who sliced and diced the Wolves all night for 49 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. The Wolves were a step late to shooters; indecisive on how to handle screens, especially with Doncic; and fouled too much in an out-of-character performance for a defense that has been among the league’s best the past two seasons. They had one good quarter of defense on Wednesday at Portland, but the other seven quarters have not been up to their standard. “Defense is certainly not where it needs to be,” coach Chris Finch said after Los Angeles shot 59.2% from the floor. “Just nothing. Not dictating on the point of attack. No aggressiveness to it at all, and the fly around mentality behind it is just not quite there.” The night started fine for the Wolves, who built a double digit-lead early. They led 28-17 by hitting 11 of their first 14 shots, and they scored 40 points in the first quarter. Anthony Edwards finished the night with 31 points while Julius Randle had 26. But that’s where the good news ended for the Wolves. On Wednesday, the Wolves allowed the Trail Blazers to score 95 points by the end of three quarters. The Lakers outdid that by reaching 108 through three. They had 40 in the third. DiVincenzo, who had 13 points, said the team’s effort wasn’t there. “First and foremost is effort. You fix the effort and then you can tweak all the little things,” DiVincenzo said. “But you can’t tweak all the little things unless you’re giving 100 percent effort.”
