All things considered, Minnesota delivered one of its best offensive showings of the season in Game 1 on Saturday in Los Angeles.

And followed it up with one of its worst on Tuesday in Game 2.

The Timberwolves shot 38% from the floor and 20% from beyond the arc while scoring a season-low 85 points in defeat.

Their 14 assists marked a new season low.

After seemingly deciphering Los Angeles’ defensive scheme in Game 1 — when he tallied nine assists to just one turnover — Anthony Edwards didn’t record a single assist Tuesday. It’s the first time the all-star guard has been shut out of that column since the 2021-22 campaign. He did have nine potential assists, per tracking data. But none of those bore fruit.

And while the Lakers’ roster has turned over throughout the season, one thing that hasn’t changed is Los Angeles’ approach to guarding the Timberwolves’ best player. The Lakers consistently switch pick and rolls to take away Edwards’ space on the perimeter and commit heavy gap help to show him a crowd whenever he steps inside the arc.

It’s been largely effective throughout the season. Edwards’ offensive rating during the regular season versus the Lakers was an abysmal 104 points per 100 possessions. He has now had three assists or fewer in four of his six matchups with Los Angeles.

In those six meetings, Edwards is shooting 40% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc while averaging 3.3 free throws per game. Minnesota has recorded 18 assists or fewer just seven times this season. Three of those occasions came against the Lakers.

Edwards felt as though the Lakers threw something different at him Tuesday.

“Every time I caught the ball, (Los Angeles) kind of went like in a zone, in a sense,” Edwards said. “So it’s kind of confusing at times.”

The guard said it was the first time he has seen such a look this season. When he caught the ball on the top of the floor, he felt as though Lakers defenders would hold their positions, even as Edwards’ teammates cut across the floor.

To the contrary, Lakers star Luka Doncic said Los Angeles followed the “same gameplan” in general as it did in Game 1. That’s true in terms of the principles of the approach. But the Lakers seemed to pay more attention to perimeter shooters than they did in Game 1, and did somewhat decrease their interior presence.

That freed up Edwards, Julius Randle and others to get inside and attempt a number of contested shots around the bucket.

It also left Rudy Gobert more available on the rolls and in the dunker spot, though Minnesota rarely tapped into that option after Gobert failed to capitalize on a couple of first-quarter opportunities.

“They were in the gaps a lot. And when they’re in the gaps, I think we’ve got to be timely with our passes. I think we were just a beat off every now and then on those plays,” Wolves guard Mike Conley said. “When guys are open, we’ve got to hit them right when they’re open. Not a half second, two seconds later when guys (are) closing out to him, which is a different shot for people. First game, we were getting wide-open looks. We were getting rhythm shots. That’s what we want to try to accomplish.”

The hesitance Tuesday to do seemingly everything caused Minnesota’s offense to stagnate. And when neither the ball nor the bodies are moving, the Wolves are infinitely easier to guard.

“I mean it’s kind of hard (with) the way that they’re guarding us because … when I catch the ball, they kind of go zone,” Edwards said. “So it’s hard to see. And then once I try to attack a gap, it’s like three people (there). And then I jump and make a pass. That takes time off the clock, they get back into their rotation. So I just got to make my decisions a little quicker like coach said, and then we’ll be all right.”

Because, frankly, Wolves coach Chris Finch felt simple plays were there to be made even in Game 2. He labeled Minnesota’s execution as “not good.” The coach noted the Lakers didn’t make many tactical adjustments. Finch said Los Angeles’ increased ball pressure caused Minnesota to go sideways with the dribble rather than getting downhill and punching gaps as often as it should have.

As a result, the ball got sticky.

There was a possession in the second quarter in which Edwards was essentially doubled on the catch, leaving Terrence Shannon Jr. wide open, one pass away in the corner. Rather than immediately making the pass, Edwards collected himself and drove to the bucket.

He scored, but that wasn’t necessarily the “right play” in that situation. And making the “right play” is what generated Minnesota’s offensive explosion in Game 1.

“We won Game 1 with the right ball movement, the right mindset, and making the easy and right reads,” Conley said. “So we just have to do it again. Do it again, again and again and not get tired of doing a consistent thing.”

Edwards said film study should reveal answers ahead of Game 3 on Saturday. To this point in the season, the Lakers’ defense has proved to be a difficult equation for the Wolves to solve.

“The way it felt (Tuesday) is they were really physical, and we were a little more reluctant to make that extra pass a little bit sometimes, and sometimes to just take the shot,” Gobert said. “It’s hard to judge from just not watching the tape, so I think we’ll have those answers.”