Anthony Edwards Taunt Bites Back as Laker Youngster Jake LaRavia Silences Minnesota Fans

Former Sacramento Kings guard Jake LaRavia signed a 2-year $12 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason.

Anthony Edwards Taunt Bites Back as Laker Youngster Jake LaRavia Silences Minnesota Fans

Jake LaRavia and Anthony Edwards (Image via FirstSportz)

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The Los Angeles Lakers signed Jake LaRavia this offseason with the hope that he would be a spark off the bench. In their 5th game of the season, he went up against a Minnesota Timberwolves team playing without superstar Anthony Edwards.

In their first 4 games, the 23-year-old averaged just 6.25 points per game. It was mostly enough as the team was leaning on the likes of Luka Doncic first, until he got injured.

Then, after the Slovenian superstar was ruled out for a week, it was Austin Reaves‘ turn. The latter shouldered the scoring burden and dropped a career-high 51 points to win over LaRavia’s former team, the Sacramento Kings.

He followed it up with a 41-point performance against the Portland Trail Blazers, but it was not enough. Heading into Minneapolis, the Lakers were down a couple of more players, prompting head coach JJ Redick to promote the Wake Forest alum into the starting lineup.

Jake LaRavia had a good game, scoring 27 points for the Lakers. After his last score, he fouled Timberwolves star Julius Randle. While the forward was lining up for his free throws, a Wolves fan in the crowd yelled:

Who is Number 12?

A fan yelled during the game

In response, Anthony Edwards, who was sitting on the bench, added:

That’s what I’m saying. I don’t know.

Anthony Edwards said

LaRavia just smiled at the sequence, as it dawned on the Timberwolves and their fans that his scoring helped the Los Angeles Lakers take a significant double-digit lead.

Jake LaRavia’s efficiency helped Lakers win

Jake LaRavia finished the night with 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. More importantly, he shot 90% from the floor. That is why Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves fans were left baffled.

They probably did not know enough about the California native, who essentially made a Western Conference Finals team look lost. His scoring helped his Lakers take a significant lead, which they would hold until late in the fourth quarter.

It was one of those nights. I came out, hit my first three, and kept shooting it, it kept dropping.

Jake LaRavia replied

He was humble in assessing his shooting, but at the same time, was self-critical about his below-average numbers from the free-throw line. After the interview, he then jumped into an embrace with Austin Reaves, who cemented the win.

Jake LaRavia stood still to watch Austin Reaves hit game-winner

After holding the double-digit lead until 4:30 left in the 4th quarter, the Minnesota Timberwolves staged a rally that helped them not only claw back the deficit, but also took a 1-point lead with 10 seconds to go.

Austin Reaves scoring the game-winner
Austin Reaves scoring the game-winner (Image via NBA/X)

Up until that point, Jake LaRavia was the highest scorer for the away team, but then it changed in the final 4 seconds of the game. Austin Reaves received the ball and then tried to figure out the Wolves’ defensive scheme.

When he saw a sliver of space, the guard slipped through two defenders and shot a floater that went into the basket as the clock ran down to 0. With that, the Lakers won the game 116-115.

During this sequence, all LaRavia did was inbound the ball to Reaves, and then move towards the baseline to draw his defender away. It worked, as the latter scored over LaRavia’s defender, Donte DiVincenzo, as time expired.

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