London, England (Sports Network) - Martell Webster scored 24 points and Michael Beasley added 21, as the Minnesota Timberwolves earned an easy 111-92 win over the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in the preseason opener for both teams.
Kevin Love contributed 11 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota, which shot 54.1 percent from the field and 66.7 from three-point range.
Lamar Odom had a team-high 17 points and six boards for the Lakers, who made only 44.3 percent of their shots. Shannon Brown and Derek Fisher went for 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Tied at 27 after the opening 12 minutes, both teams went back and forth in the second. Sasha Vujacic broke a 49-49 game with a three-pointer with 1:47 left in the period and the margin would hold up until Beasley made a pair of free throws with 3.3 seconds remaining to get Minnesota within a point, 56-55, at the break.
Kobe Bryant saw only 6:02 of action in the first quarter and went 0-3 from the field including missing on both three-point attempts. He did not play in the second half.
The Timberwolves opened the third quarter with 16-3 run to go up, 71-59, near the midway point. Beasley accounted for 10 during the stretch. Minnesota had a healthy 87-74 lead after three and LA never threatened the outcome in the final period.