LeBron: Lakers Won't Win 'Many Games' With Performances Similar To Timberwolves Loss

LeBron James was not pleased with the performance of the Los Angeles Lakers as they slumped to their fifth defeat of the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Lakers were looking to get back to winning ways after a 110-106 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs over the weekend, however, Minnesota had other ideas as a strong fourth quarter saw them come away with a 124-120 win Monday night at the Target Center.

Wantaway Wolves star Jimmy Butler scored a game-high 32 points, including five three-pointers in the final quarter as well as the decisive triple that put the home side up by five points with 18.8 seconds left on the clock.

James meanwhile, posted 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists but could not prevent the Lakers from going 2-5 at this early stage of the season.

He cited the team's turnovers and giving up of offensive rebounds as the reasons behind the loss, adding they were not going to win many games if they continued to perform like that.

"We gave up 20 offensive rebounds. We knew coming into the game they're a very good offensive rebound [minded] team," James told reporters after the game. "We stressed that. We understood that and still allowed them to get second chance points, you can't do that on the road."

"We held them to 42 percent shooting and we all know Jimmy [Butler] hit some big time shots in that fourth quarter, but you hold a team to 42 percent shooting on their home floor but you give up 20 offensive rebounds and allow them to get second chance points and 18 points off your turnovers...You're not going to win many games like that," he added.

The 33-year-old has repeatedly stressed the importance of patience during the preseason as well as the start of the season when the Lakers began with a 0-3 start.

It was only natural as this is a completely revamped Lakers side with young prospects and experienced veterans spearheaded by James. However, they can't keep hanging on to patience especially if they continue to make the same mistakes over and over again, according to the Akron native.

"We got to get better. We know that," James added. "We talk about patience, but we can't have a recurrence of the same thing. Doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result. That's insanity. We have to continue to get better."

The Lakers play host to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday next. The Mavericks, also 2-5, lost to the Spurs in a 113-108 overtime defeat on Monday and are currently on a four-game losing run after a 2-1 start to the season.

Both teams are currently outside the playoff spots in the Western Conference, with Los Angeles in 11th and Dallas in 12th at the time of writing. Minnesota meanwhile, improved to 3-4 and are currently in 10th place.