The Los Angeles Lakers took a 49-44 lead into halftime on Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Then, after the two teams emerged from the locker rooms at Staples Center, the Timberwolves absolutely blitzed the Lakers en route to a 107-83 win. The third quarter, in particular, was shocking on both ends of the floor for L.A., as Minnesota outscored them in the frame, 40-12.
While the Lakers have dealt with injuries and a largely brand new roster this season, their 7-6 record to start the season hasn’t quite been good enough for a team with championship aspirations. And after the “embarrassing” game, Anthony Davis took his team to task for their effort in third quarters throughout the season up to this point.
“We sucked,” Davis said about their effort in the frame, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “No defense. Can’t score. That’s not just this third quarter, it’s every third quarter we’ve played this season. We come out slow, lackadaisical offensively and defensively. We got to get it together. Why? I can’t tell you. But we got to do a better job.”
Davis went on to say that the Lakers, even beyond this one loss, are nowhere near the level they need to be right now.
“We got to decide who we want to be. A championship team? That’s not us right now,” Davis said. “We’re not winning a championship the way we’re playing. We got to be better, and we got to care more for our wins at home. Wins in general. That was embarrassing.”
The Lakers will try to get back in the win column on Sunday afternoon when they play host to the San Antonio Spurs.
