The Lakers kicked off the JJ Redick era with a season-opening victory against the Wolves behind a huge night from Anthony Davis.

On a memorable night highlighted by LeBron James and Bronny making history, the Lakers kept the good vibes going by picking up a 110-103 win over the Wolves. It’s the first win for the Lakers to open the season since 2016-17.

Anthony Davis dominated with 36 points, 16 rebounds and four assists. Rui Hachimura had a strong game, ending with 18 points, five rebounds, a block, two steals and an assist. LeBron James dropped 16 points with five rebounds and four assists.

Austin Reaves grabbed nine rebounds with his 12 points. D’Angelo Russell had five assists and two steals to make up for a poor shooting night. Jaxson Hayes was big off the bench with 10 points, four rebounds and a block.

A quick 3-pointer by Rui started off the offense for Los Angeles. He followed it up with a dunk on Rudy Gobert and blocked him on the other end.

Rui’s intense start was rubbing off on the entire team. Austin had a fantastic assist to LeBron for a dunk as LA’s lead expanded to six.

Minnesota started converting more on their shots and cut the deficit to three. After such a strong start, LA’s energy died down and their shots came up short. At the end of the first, the Wolves took the lead by one.

Tough last 49 seconds of the 1st for LAL:

• Reid banks a 3
• LeBron misses at the rim
• DiVincenzo collects own miss and puts it back
• Russell misses open 3

As such, Minnesota turns a quarter-long deficit into a 23-22 lead.

-- Mike Trudell @LakersReporter

Rui’s hot start continued into the second with a quick layup. Both teams started trading baskets and the lead. Minnesota started missing their shots and the Lakers began to heat up, going on a 19-6 run. A huge dunk by Jaxson Hayes off a great assist from Dalton Knecht really woke the crowd up.

The Lakers poured on the offense and took a lead of 14. Minnesota struggled heavily to knock down shots and LA’s lead ballooned to 19. At the four-minute mark, LeBron and Bronny checked in together to make history as the first father-son duo to play in an NBA game.

The Wolves began to slowly creep back into the game with a 7-0 run. After a timeout, LeBron dunked to stop Minnesota’s run. Los Angeles did a great job of stopping the Wolves from getting it too close and led at halftime, 55-42.

Family Business.

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-- Los Angeles Lakers @Lakers

The Lakers started the second half well, maintaining their lead, grabbing rebounds and playing great defense. Rui’s impressive game continued as he had another dunk with authority.

The Timberwolves slowly tried to creep back into it, cutting the 19-point lead LA had built down to 12. Although the Lakers struggled to connect from behind the arc, their rebounding and defense helped them maintain leads and keep the fight up.

Austin went on a mini 4-0 run to inject some more momentum back into LA, but the Wolves answered with a 7-0 run. Los Angeles maintained a good lead throughout the quarter, but Minnesota crept back into it and started playing better. At the end of the third, the Lakers were up eight.

AD COMING THROUGH

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-- Los Angeles Lakers @Lakers

The final frame opened with two free throws from Naz Reid and, suddenly, the Wolves were extremely close and made it a game again. LeBron started the offense for LA early with an and-one basket. Naz knocked down a three to make it a four-point game.

LA pushed their lead up to eight, showing excellent effort by stopping Minnesota. Jaxson’s efforts off the bench were major for the team as he had a big block and a dunk.

The Wolves made it an eight-point game with 4:32 left. The teams were trading baskets but AD was doing a little of everything, including an impressive one-legged fadeaway. AD kept blocking and rebounding, controlling all aspects of the game.

A three by LeBron put the dagger into the hearts of the Wolves.

Key Takeaways:

The Lakers showed a lot of fight and hustle through their defense and grabbing rebounds. While they had stretches where they struggled, there were a lot of positives to take away from how hard they fought for rebounds.

The Lakers only had seven turnovers all game!!

The threes will be something to keep an eye on all season. They had a rough night from behind the arc, but they had a lot of great looks.

AD and Austin are in prime season form. An aggressive Rui was very nice to see, he is going to be crucial for LA’s success this season.

The Lakers’ next game is on Friday against the Phoenix Suns at 7:00 PM PT.