Smith made 47 points, leading Minnesota to a championship-form 110-93 win over LA Lakers. "That's the best we've seen them for a while," said an overwhelmed LA Lakers coach Andreas Helmle. "None of the tapes we had of them showed the fluid execution that we saw out there today, and frankly we just weren't prepared as well as they were. I take full responsibility for that; with better preparation we could have won. Instead they just took over the game and never let us back in."

Minnesota was led by Smith (47 points, 3 assists), Dirks (12 points, 7 boards, 4 assists, a steal, a block), Prince (15 points, 6 boards, 2 assists). LA Lakers was led by Covington (29 points, a steal, a block), Monroe (17 points, 10 boards, 0 assists), Gavagan (8 points, 7 boards, 5 assists, 2 blocks).

Minnesota jump to 7-4. They improve to #2 in the Northwest and advance to #6 overall in the Western Conference. LA Lakers are now 3-8 and 2-4 at home after today's defeat. They stay at #4 in the Pacific and stay at #13 overall in the Western Conference.

box score Minnesota roster LA Lakers* roster