Timberwolves thump Lakers, 108-86

Jeff Teague contributed a pair of 3-pointers to a game-opening, 15-1 run on Sunday afternoon that paved the way for the host Minnesota Timberwolves to post a 108-86 rout of a Los Angeles Lakers' squad missing LeBron James. The win came shortly before head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau was fired, ending his tenure midway through his third season in Minnesota. The team announced the move after the game, with assistant Ryan Saunders being named interim head coach.

Teague finished with 15 points and a game-high 11 assists, while Karl-Anthony Towns added a double-double of his own with 28 points and a game-high 18 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who swept a two-game homestand that began with a win over Orlando on Friday night. Lance Stephenson came off the bench for 14 points and six assists to lead the Lakers, who lost for the fifth time in six games since James suffered a groin injury in a Christmas Day win over the Golden State Warriors. After the Lakers' Ivica Zubac opened the game with a free throw, the Timberwolves ran off 15 straight points, with Teague (eight) and Andrew Wiggins (five) combining for 13 of them. Minnesota went on to lead by as many as 21 points in the first quarter and 64-45 at halftime before coasting home for its second win in three meetings with the Lakers this season.

Wiggins matched Towns' game-high points total with 28, and Taj Gibson had a third double-double for Minnesota with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Timberwolves outshot the Lakers 46.1 percent to 36.8 and outscored them 33-15 on 3-pointers, with Teague and Wiggins each hitting a game-high three. Brandon Ingram had 13 points for the Lakers, who were tipping off a two-day, two-game trip that concludes Monday night in Dallas. Michael Beasley (11 points) and Josh Hart (10) also scored in double figures for the Lakers, while Tyson Chandler complemented six points with a team-high 10 rebounds. 

(With inputs from agencies.)