RUDY GOBERT scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 109-80 win over the Los Angeles (LA) Lakers on Monday night in Minneapolis.

Julius Randle finished with 18 points for Minnesota, which picked up its second straight win. Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 15 points apiece off the bench, and fellow reserve Donte DiVincenzo had 11 points and nine assists.

D’Angelo Russell scored 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting to lead Los Angeles. Anthony Davis had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and LeBron James contributed 10 points on a difficult night in which he went 4-for-16 from the field.

The Lakers seemed to run out of energy in their second game in as many nights. They were outscored 30-16 in the fourth quarter and 53-36 in the second half.

The Timberwolves shot 50.6% (41 of 81) from the field and 42.9% (15 of 35) from 3-point range for the game. The Lakers shot 40.5% (32 of 79) overall and 19.4% (6 of 31) from beyond the arc.

A 10-0, fourth-quarter run by the Timberwolves helped put the game out of reach.

James made a layup to bring Los Angeles within 79-66 with 11:24 to go in the contest.

Reid responded with a driving layup on the next possession for the Timberwolves. That started a run that included a 3-pointer by DiVincenzo, a dunk by Gobert and a 3-pointer by Reid to make it 89-66 with 9:05 remaining.

Luka Garza made a pair of free throws to help the Timberwolves reach the century mark with 3:18 to go. His foul shots gave Minnesota a 100-78 lead.

Minnesota led 56-44 at the half.

The Lakers trailed 30-27 after Russell made a 3-pointer with 9:15 remaining in the first half.

The Timberwolves responded with an 18-6 run to seize a 48-33 advantage with 3:31 to go before the break. The run started with seven straight points on a hook shot from Reid, a 3-pointer from DiVincenzo and a dunk by Gobert.

The Lakers played without Austin Reaves (left pelvic bruise) and Jalen Hood-Schifino (left groin soreness).

CLIPPERS MAKE NBA CUP QUARTERS
The Los Angeles Clippers will put their eight-game home winning streak on the line when they face the road-weary Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday in the finale of NBA Cup group play in Inglewood, Calif.

Neither team enters the night eliminated from advancing to the knockout round of the tournament, but each would be finished with a loss. The winner still would need help in multiple scenarios in order to move on as a wild-card team.

The Clippers dropped their first four home games of the season at their new $2-billion arena, but after finally breaking through there on Nov. 4, they have not lost since.

Los Angeles’ most recent home success came Sunday in a 126-122 victory over the Denver Nuggets, when James Harden produced 39 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.

Harden became the second player in NBA history to make 3,000 baskets from 3-point range. The milestone came as he went 6 of 15 from long distance.

Harden is shooting 44.7% from the floor over his most recent four games, an improvement over his 38.5% mark on the season. — Reuters

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