Luka Dončić is a savant. He proved once again to be distinguished in his field of expertise, and the Lakers are reaping the rewards of Dončić’s brilliance.

Dončić was dynamic, scoring 49 points and coming up two assists short of a triple-double with 11 rebounds and eight assists in leading the Lakers past the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-110 on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Dončić became the first player in Lakers history to open the season with back-to-back 40-plus point games and the fourth in NBA history to accomplish that feat, joining Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, and Anthony Davis. He also set the record for the most points in Lakers history in the first two games with 91, surpassing the 81 points Hall of Famer Jerry West scored in back-to-back games to open the 1969-70 season.

Dončić capped his spectacular performance by drilling a three-pointer that gave the Lakers a 19-point lead. His showmanship included pursing his lips while doing a shimmy to the adoring crowd. Then, he bounced off the court when the reeling Timberwolves called a timeout with eight minutes and six seconds left in the game. Dončić had a chance to score 50 points but missed the first of two free throws with 3:05 remaining. He departed the game at 3:01 left to a standing ovation.

From the start on Friday, Dončić continued his exceptional play to open the season, scoring from all over the court and doing whatever he wanted against Minnesota defenders. He worked himself into exhaustion and eventually begged to come out after dropping 23 points on the Timberwolves in the first quarter.

Dončić tied Kobe Bryant and Kyle Kuzma for the most points scored in a first quarter in Lakers history since the 1996-97 season. This marked the 12th time in Dončić’s career he scored 20-plus points in an opening quarter. He finished the first half with 32 points, becoming the fourth Laker since the 1996-97 season to record multiple games with 30-plus points in a half. He joined legends Bryant, LeBron James, and Shaquille O’Neal in this elite company.

When Dončić began to get help from his teammates in the second quarter while resting on the bench, the Lakers turned an 11-point first-half deficit into a 68-63 lead after 24 minutes.

The two days of practice and the shootaround served as an extension of training camp for the Lakers, giving them extra time to prepare for the Minnesota Timberwolves team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season. After losing their season opener to the Warriors on Tuesday night, the Lakers used those two days to work out some issues.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said the practices and shootaround were “just a really detailed reinforcement of some things that we did throughout the training camp.”

“So, in some ways, you got to get back to the fundamentals of defense,” Redick explained. “We spent a lot of time both Wednesday and Thursday on that, and today’s shootaround was more of a mental day. We spent about 40 minutes on the court, but it wasn’t rev them up and go. It was mental for both sides of the ball.”

The Lakers also focused on unlocking center Deandre Ayton during practice. Ayton was particularly needed against the tall and physical Timberwolves front line. He stood tall, demonstrating what Redick called “consistency” in his willingness to be coached.

“He’s been really good for the last two weeks,” Redick said. “He had two great days of practice. I thought yesterday was his best day in our scrimmage for pick-and-roll coverage.”

Lakers backup center Jaxson Hayes did not play against the Timberwolves due to left knee soreness.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/story/2025-10-24/los-angeles-lakers-minnesota-timberwolves-game-recap