Luka Doncic (37 points, eight rebounds, five treys) was singing the same tune in his post-game press conference. He blamed the same thing as James, with Doncic expressing his disappointment with the Lakers' level of play after the opening 12 minutes.

The Lakers led by seven points after the first quarter, but they were outscored 38-20 by Minnesota in the second. Los Angeles wasn't able to trim the deficit to single-digits for the rest of the game, as the Timberwolves led by as many as 27 points.

The trade for Luka Doncic and immediate connection he made with LeBron James has transformed the Lakers into legitimate title contenders.