The Los Angeles Lakers (36-21) stayed hot, as LeBron James enjoyed another huge outing in Thursday's 111-102 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves (32-28). The fans are not all smiles, however. Rui Hachimura suffered a non-contact injury while dunking the ball and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest with a knee strain, per Dan Woike of the LA Times.

The 27-year-old forward has played a key role in the Lakers' recent success, so this is obviously unsettling news. He finished with five points and three rebounds in 18 minutes versus the Wolves. This marks the second time in the last five days that Hachimura suffered an injury scare.

The former top 10 draft pick is a key floor spacer, averaging 13.5 points while shooting 41.3 percent from 3-point range, but he is also a frontcourt presence on a squad that is lacking size after trading Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic. While Los Angeles has been playing great basketball regardless, it cannot afford to see its rotation shrink much further.

Maybe head coach JJ Redick will have some fairly optimistic news to share regarding Hachimura's condition, the kind that will allow Lakers fans to rest a little easier.

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Lakers continue their surge in West

LA jumped on Minnesota early and seemed to be heading toward a straightforward home win after Anthony Edwards incurred his 16th technical foul of the season and was ejected in the third quarter. The gritty Timberwolves once again clawed their way back, however.

They cut the deficit to three in the fourth quarter, but Doncic was clutch down the stretch. He scored eight points in the last five minutes, finding a way to impact the game despite shooting just 6-of-20 from the field. LeBron James and Austin Reaves picked up the slack, with the former posting 31 points, 16 rebounds and six assists and the latter notching 23 points, six boards and two steals in the win.

That trio is talented enough to dissect defenses even if Rui Hachimura is forced to miss time, but the 2019 consensus All-American (Gonzaga) is an important part of the team's playoff outlook. The Lakers now move into fourth place in the West, continuing their climb up the standings, and next face the visiting Los Angeles Clippers (32-26) on Friday night. Ideally, they will have more information on Hachimura by then.