LOS ANGELES — Despite being one of the worst teams in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers are enjoying the final stretch of their dismal campaign. The Lakers will try to post a season-high four-game winning streak when they play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday at Staples Center.
The Lakers (24-55) won their third in a row Friday when they defeated the Sacramento Kings 98-94 at Staples. Julius Randle scored 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting to pace the Lakers, who have not won four straight games in four seasons.
“I think we’re playing more together,” said Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr., who collected a game-high 11 rebounds with seven points. “We’re not necessarily caring who gets the points, who gets the rebounds, who gets the steals. Everybody’s focused on trying to get some wins.”
In addition to topping the Kings, the Lakers have beaten the San Antonio Spurs and the Memphis Grizzlies this week. That has allowed the Lakers to pass the Phoenix Suns (23-57) for the worst record in the Western Conference with three games remaining. Only the Brooklyn Nets (20-60) have compiled a worse mark.
If the Lakers fail to garner a top-three pick in this summer’s lottery, they will forfeit the pick to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of the Steve Nash trade.
However, that is of little concern right now to Lakers coach Luke Walton and his players. They are relishing one of their best runs of the season.
“They are having fun and they are competing,” Walton told the club website regarding his players. “When we were playing well early in the year, that is what we were doing. Losing took that from us, and we’ve found it again for the last couple of games.”
The Timberwolves (31-48) have found little to grin about in their recent play. They have dropped three consecutive contests and seven of their last 10.
In a season some predicted would result in a playoff berth, the Timberwolves’ inconsistency has been their downfall.
The Utah Jazz handed Minnesota a 120-113 loss on Friday. The Timberwolves are 0-3 on their current four-game road swing.
“We fought,” Wolves forward Andrew Wiggins told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “We’ve been playing a lot of games, a lot of travel. It’s difficult, but we fought. Everyone’s tired, but what we’re feeling now, the whole NBA is feeling.”
The Timberwolves experienced some good vibes March 30 after a 119-114 decision over the Lakers behind a career-high 33 points by guard Ricky Rubio. Rubio also had 11 assists and five rebounds. Center Karl-Anthony Town added 32 points.
But the Timberwolves faded down the stretch and lost 130-119 in overtime on March 24 in their last contest against the Lakers at Staples. The Timberwolves blew an eight-point lead with less than three minutes remaining in regulation.
Minnesota’s inability to hold late leads has been a major problem for much of the season.
“If you have big leads going late into the game, there obviously were a lot of good things happening to build those leads,” Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau, according to the Star Tribune. “Then you have to ask yourself: Why did we lose those leads?”
Minnesota has prevailed in two of the previous three contests against Los Angeles this season.
