PALM DESERT — With their two stars sidelined for rest, the Lakers opened preseason with a 124-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night at Acrisure Arena.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis sat out the first exhibition, with new coach JJ Redick citing their gold-medal run with Team USA at the Paris Olympics over the summer and their workload during training camp as the reason for them not playing.
The star duo not suiting up created more opportunities for other players on the roster.
Austin Reaves and first-round pick Dalton Knecht led the Lakers with 16 points apiece, with Reaves also recording seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. Knecht shot 7 of 11 from the field and 2 of 5 on 3-pointers.
Max Christie, who started in place of James, had 11 points and six rebounds. He showcased his athleticism with a pair of blocked shots at the rim against Timberwolves players driving to the basket.
D’Angelo Russell (14 points, three assists) and Gabe Vincent (11 points) also scored in double figures.
With Jarred Vanderbilt (feet surgery) and Christian Wood (left knee surgery) sidelined in addition to James and Davis, the Lakers cycled through a variety of small-ball lineups.
Friday was Redick’s first action as a head coach after not coaching the Lakers during summer league.
“The anxiety that people may assume I’m having is around how my team is going to perform,” Redick said pregame. “We’ve mentioned the word preparation. And once you’ve invested a lot in preparation, you kind of have to just accept that. And then it becomes, you know, I want to see how my team does against another team. That’s where any sort of anxiety comes.
“I have, and I’ve talked to some of the guys, I’ve given myself some grace in terms of some of the nuanced stuff. I’m not gonna be perfect. That’s OK. The preparation and attempting to get buy-in from our guys, that’s been my focus and will continue to be my focus throughout preseason.”
Anthony Edwards, who was also on Team USA, and Julius Randle, whom the Timberwolves acquired on Wednesday in a trade that sent longtime franchise cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks, didn’t play for Minnesota.
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All of the Timberwolves’ starters played 10 or fewer minutes.
Rob Dillingham (21 points), the No. 8 pick in the draft, Josh Minott (22 points, eight rebounds and three steals) and Luka Garza (20 points, nine rebounds) led Minnesota off the bench.
The Lakers will return to Acrisure Arena on Sunday for another exhibition against the Phoenix Suns.