The Los Angeles Lakers faced a pivotal breaking point after dropping Game 1 in a dramatic fashion during its first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
“We went at it yesterday, and [it was] one of the best practices we had all year,” said James on the Lakers preparation to tie up the series. “We looked at what we didn’t do so well, which is a lot of things in Game 1. … We took it to heart, held each other accountable and had a much better result.”
The result was the Lakers tying the series at 1-1 by earning a 94-85 victory over the Timberwolves on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Luka Doncic finished with 31 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists while LeBron James had 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
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“The emphasis was to play harder, match physicality with physicality,” said Austin Reaves, who finished with 15 points for the third-seeded Lakers.
The Lakers outscored the sixth-seeded Timberwolves 34-15 in the first quarter behind 16 early points from its 26-year-old superstar. Doncic became the first Laker to record back-to-back 30+ point games since 2000, joining a list of Kobe Bryant, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Shaquille O’Neal.
Doncic often took advantage of pick-and-roll mismatches with Rudy Gobert defending him, dazzling while dribbling and attacking the basket.
“We gotta win no matter what…it’s gonna be tough but we gotta play the same way,” said Doncic.
Julius Randle led Minnesota with 27 points and Anthony Edwards had 25, admitting Los Angeles made it challenging the way they were packing the paint on the defensive end.
“The way that they’re guarding us, when I catch the ball, they kind of go zone, and when I try to attack a gap, it’s like three people,” Edwards said. “I’ve just got to make my decisions a little quicker, and we’ll be alright.”
The Timberwolves shot 5-for-25 on 3-pointers and were held to 38 percent shooting from the field, compared to making a franchise best 21 threes in Game 1.
“We were physical. The playoffs require a different level,” said Lakers coach JJ Reddick. “The mentality for both teams is to have a rock fight.”
The Lakers led by as many as 22 in the second quarter after a Dorian Finney-Smith dunk gave Los Angeles a 53-31 lead with 4:43 left in the period.
Edwards then slammed home a thunderous dunk, made a three-pointer, and converted a floater to cut the Timberwolves deficit to 58-43 at halftime.
“We knew they would come with high intensity, with energy,” Randle said. “We knew it was going to be physical. … We were stagnant, missed open looks, missed layups. They were just in a rhythm.”
Los Angeles was held to only 36 second-half points but Minnesota went on to only score 42 as well.
“We can still be better offensively,” James said. “I thought we had some great looks. If we continue to get looks like that, I trust our percentages.”
The Timberwolves attempted to chip away at its deficit. Edwards made a jumper with 7:48 left in the third to get within 11, but Los Angeles closed out the period leading 81-65 going into the fourth.
The Lakers used a 10-0 run to extend their lead back to 71-51 after the Timberwolves tried to spark a late comeback.
“We just couldn’t get stops,” said Edwards.
Minnesota could get no closer than nine in the fourth period and James provided a huge steal and converted a heavily contested lay-up to essentially put the game away for the Lakers with just under three-minutes to play in the period.
“You have to go out and lead by example… if I’m gonna talk about it, I’m actually gonna do it as well… I’ve always had that mentality,” James said.
Los Angeles will travel to Minnesota for its first road game of the series on Thursday at the Target Center. Game Three will tip-off at 6:30 p.m.
“Me and Bron have to keep the team together. Going into Minnesota is going to be a war,” said Doncic.
