LAS VEGAS (AP) – Karl-Anthony Towns, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, scored 12 points in his professional debut Friday night to help the Minnesota Timberwolves to an 81-68 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers and No. 2 pick D’Angelo Russell in the NBA Summer League.
Russell finished with eight points.
The highly anticipated matchup created quite the buzz at UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center, where the lower bowl was filled to capacity with mostly purple-and-gold clad Lakers fans who began arriving at the arena roughly four hours before tip-off.
By game time, several sections in the upper bowl were opened to eliminate fans sitting in the stairwells.
But a rather lackluster performance by both top picks was overshadowed by Minnesota’s Zach LaVine and Los Angeles’ Jordan Clarkson. LaVine, the league’s reigning Slam Dunk champion, led all scorers with 24 points, while Clarkson finished with 23 for the Lakers.