Rui Hachimura poured in a team-high 30 points, but it was not enough to help the Los Angeles Lakers avoid a 127-117 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the absence of superstar LeBron James on Sunday.
Hachimura shot 11-from-17 from the floor, including 4-from-5 from three-point range, on the way to his third 30-point game of the season. He also logged six rebounds and one assist in 36 minutes.
The Timberwolves, currently first in the Western Conference, were led by Naz Reid with 31 points and Anthony Edwards with 26 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
James was ruled out before the game with flu-like symptoms, while frontcourt star Anthony Davis was sidelined from the second quarter after suffering an eye injury, leaving the Lakers without their two leading scorers.
"It's tough. Two of the main guys didn't play tonight, but no excuse, we've been through this before," Hachimura said.
"Bron and AD were out tonight and that put me in a lot of action. I was able to get touches and just be aggressive."
The loss leaves the 45-34 Lakers ninth in the West with three regular-season games left and several teams jockeying for position in a tight race for the playoffs and play-in tournament.
They will face the 10th-place Golden State Warriors on Tuesday in their final home game.
"We've got to recover," Hachimura said. "We've been going on the road and having back-to-back games right away, so we've got to get rest tomorrow. I feel like that's the key. We've got to bring the energy back."
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