Without LeBron James, Timberwolves hand Lakers 4th straight loss

Anthony Edwards had 27 points to steady Minnesota and the Timberwolves beat Los Angeles 118-111 on Thursday to hand the Lakers — with LeBron James sitting out on the second night of back-to-back games — their fourth straight loss.

At 21-6, the West-leading Timberwolves tied Boston for the overall NBA lead.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points for Minnesota before limping to the locker room for further examination on an lower-leg injury with 5:07 left and the Wolves awake after a sleepy third quarter.

Mike Conley finished with 16 points, eight assists and two of the team's 13 steals and Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Wolves avoided consecutive losses for the first time this season and improved to 12-1 at home.

Anthony Davis had 31 points and eight rebounds, and Rui Hachimura — in the starting lineup with James out to rest tendinitis in his ankle — scored 18 points as the Lakers fell to 1-5 since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament. They're 15-14 overall and 5-11 on the road.

The Lakers have been in a mini-slump over the last 12 days, whether or not the lag was related to the investment of energy into winning the league's inaugural sideshow in Las Vegas on Dec. 9.

Davis was listed as questionable with an ankle injury, but he played on while James watched from the bench in a stocking hat and hooded sweatshirt. With Austin Reaves (18 points) providing a burst and several swishes off the bench and Taurean Prince — one of three former Timberwolves in the rotation — hitting all of four of his 3-pointers, the Lakers hung around all night.

D'Angelo Russell, who was in as deep in the rut as anyone on the Lakers and had only two points at Chicago on Wednesday night, finished strong and had 17 points and eight assists against his old team. Still, he's just 20 for 57 from the floor in his last five games.

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Lakers: At Oklahoma City on Saturday night.

Timberwolves: At Sacramento on Saturday night.