Darvin Ham Praises Lakers For Effort Without Stars vs Minnesota
The Los Angeles Lakers endured another key loss on Sunday, falling 127-117 to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers were without both LeBron James and Anthony Davis for most of the game against the Timberwolves, who hold the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. James was out with flu-like symptoms, while Davis left early after sustaining another eye injury. The Lakers dropped to 45-34 with the loss, but still hold the No. 9 seed in the West.
Despite the loss, Lakers coach Darvin Ham was proud of his team for stepping up without their two biggest stars available.
"Already being without Bron and seeing [Davis] go out, it’s tough. But my hat’s off to our guys. They didn’t feel sorry for themselves,” Ham said, via Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. "They kept competing all the way through. Just had some unfortunate possessions offensively, couldn’t make shots we normally make. Looked a little tired. Guys not having their legs underneath them.”
The Lakers saw Rui Hachimura lead the team in scoring with 30 points, six rebounds and one assist in the absence of James and Davis. Alongside Hachimura, center Jaxson Hayes had his largest point total of the season, scoring 19 points and notching 10 rebounds for just his second double-double this season. D'Angelo Russell also recorded a double-double with 15 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie added 18 points and Austin Reaves brought in 14.
These efforts were not enough to get the win over a strong Timberwolves team, but showed the Lakers have some depth heading into the end of the regular season. The Lakers have just three regular-season games left, starting with a matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
