The Los Angeles Lakers claimed an ugly 101-99 overtime victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves behind a resilient performance from rookie Jordan Clarkson. The Lakers' 22-year-old rookie scored eight points in the overtime period, including a pair of game-winning free throws, which helped balance out his six turnovers on the night.
Before chiding the rookie on his six errors, one should point out that this was one the uglier games in recent memory. Considering the current season comprises of 51 losses and only 19 victories, saying that this game dried more the eyeballs than most is saying a great deal.
"It was a really ugly game to watch," Time Warner Cable SportsNet analyst James Worthy said in his opening post-game remarks. As a reminder, Worthy works for the television station broadcasting the game.
Minnesota only suited up eight healthy bodies with Justin Hamilton playing despite suffering intense headaches and missing the past four games. Hamilton contributed fewer than 10 minutes against the Lakers and was one of only three players not to turn the ball over--Ryan Kelly and Sean Kilpatrick being the other two.
Turnovers told the story, as the Western Conference's two worst (and most injured) teams promised fireworks and delivered 35 combined turnovers.
"It wasn't pretty, but we continued to play," Clarkson could not help but say in his on-court victory interview with Time Warner Cable SportsNet.
Clarkson hit the game-winning free throws and scored eight points in the overtime period to finish with 20 points, five assists and five rebounds. However, when asked to describe the game, the rookie looked at reporter Mike Trudell with a look of hesitation asking if he should tell the truth. He did. With half a nervous smile, Clarkson said, "It was an ugly game."
Both teams shot 42 percent from the field, but the Lakers edged the Timberwolves by a tenth of a percent. From beyond the arc, the Timberwolves edged the Lakers by shooting a lowly average of 27.3 percent. The Lakers made only six of 23 from distance. Overall, this game would be one to forget.
Perhaps Time Warner Cable SportsNet television play-by-play announcer Bill MacDonald said is best in his post-game remarks:
"'Wow' is what you can say about that," MacDonald said as color commentator Stu Lantz laughed. "There was a lot of ugliness in that game."
Next, the Lakers play in Toronto on Friday.
Quote of the night:
"The game is made of mistakes. It's not the mistake you make; it's how you recover from the mistake." - Acting Lakers head coach Paul Pressey describing Jordan Clarkson finishing the game strong after making numerous errors.
Notes: Pressey went 1-1 as acting Head Coach while Byron Scott missed two games to be with his family following the death of his mother. Scott expects to re-join the team in Toronto, where the Lakers play on Friday. Andrew Wiggins finished with 27 points, six rebounds and four assists to lead the Timberwolves. Chase Budinger scored 22 points on 9/14 shooting. Jabari Brown earned the nod in overtime over Jeremy Lin, who finished with 19 points, five assists and three turnovers. Ed Davis continued to be productive with 14 points (7/9 shooting) and nine rebounds in only 22 minutes. Carlos Boozer and Jordan Hill did not play for the second straight game despite being available.
