The Wolves' acclaimed season begins with a late loss to the Lakers

The Timberwolves' run to the Western Conference finals and the rise of Anthony Edwards to the league gave the Wolves a prime-time spot on the opening night of the NBA season in Los Angeles.

But the Wolves lacked concentration, effort and execution in the 110-103 loss to the Lakers. Anthony Davis had a dominant performance on both ends of the court with 36 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. LeBron James scored 16 points. Julius Randle had 16 points and nine rebounds in his Wolves debut, while Donte DiVincenzo had 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting.

Anthony Edwards led the Wolves with 27 points on 10 of 25 shooting to go, six rebounds and three assists. Jaden McDaniels (six points) played only 16 minutes with foul trouble.

After coach Chris Finch said during training camp that the offense was ahead of schedule, the Wolves committed four turnovers before the first TV timeout. Finch said the same thing last year, except the offense got off to a slow start. The Lakers took control of the game with a 15-4 run in the second quarter. While Rudy Gobert took a break, the lanes to the basket were clear, and the Lakers outscored the Wolves on the offensive glass with 15 second-chance points in the first half.

The Wolves finished the first half with 11 turnovers and trailed 55-42 at halftime, even though the Lakers shot just 3-for-19 from three-point range.

Mike Conley was an uncharacteristic minus-21 player with three turnovers in the first half. He finished the race 1-7 with five points. The Wolves cut the Lakers' lead to 82-74 after three quarters thanks to eight points from DiVincenzo. They cut it to 85-81 after a three-pointer from Naz Reid, but the Lakers extended their lead back to double digits and got Davis back into the game. The wolves were no longer a threat after that. The Lakers won despite shooting just 5-for-29 from three-point range.

The new Wolves may need more time to celebrate after the trade than they allowed in the previous season. They looked a bit slow in defense and seemed to have trouble communicating throughout the game. Maybe it was the nerves in the first game, but the Wolves, unlike the Lakers, seemed like a team that didn't play together much.

Davis was arguably the best player on the floor. The Wolves had no answer for him and he was a force on both sides. He blocked Rudy Gobert and DiVincenzo heavily in the second half.