It was a night that began with nostalgia but ended with youth being served. Kobe Bryant played for the last time at Target Center. But it was the young players on both teams that stole the spotlight.
D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle combined for 43 points for the Lakers. Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Shabazz Muhammad combined for 60 for the Wolves.
Here are some thoughts on the game
--Let's hope Kevin Martin's right wrist is OK. He hurt it early in the game when he banged it on Lakers center Roy HIbbert coming around a screen.
The good news: He stayed in the game. He scored a season-high 37 points – 20 after the third quarter – hitting on 14 of 27 shots and six of nine three pointers.
The bad news: It's the same wrist that required surgery last year, surgery that kept him out of action for more than two months. Martin had been working his way out of a slump. He shot 33.1 percent overall in November, 28.6 percent on three-pointers. In December, so far, he is shooting 46.7 percent and had hit nine of 13 three-pointers.
Martin is having the wrist checked Thursday morning. We should know more after practice.
--Towns was very, very good. It was his fourth 20-plus point, 10-plus rebound game this season and his 10th double-double.
