For the first time since 2012, the Los Angeles Lakers opened up a playoff series at Crypto.com Arena as they hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of their first round series.
These two teams are evenly matchup on paper, which should make for a fun series. In Game 1 though, it was the Timberwolves that made a statement with a dominant 117-95 victory on the road.
In his first playoff game with the Lakers, Luka Doncic kicked off the scoring by getting to the free throw line, draining a step-back triple and then a layup to take a 6-0 lead.
Anthony Edwards got the Timberwolves on the board, but Rui Hachimura then hit a pair of 3-pointers to keep the Lakers out in front early.
Doncic and Hachimura had the first 20 points for L.A. until Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith came off the bench and both made triples to give their team a 28-21 lead at the end of the first.
Jaden McDaniels scored five straight points to begin the second quarter as Minnesota had a nice response, taking their first lead after a Naz Reid triple.
LeBron James ended a long drought for the Lakers with a three-point play for his first bucket. Defensive rebounding was an issue for L.A. though and the Timberwolves took advantage by getting hot from deep to stretch their lead to double digits.
After a much-needed timeout, Doncic found Hachimura for an open 3. For some reason though, the Lakers kept leaving Reid open in the corner and he made them pay. Donte DiVincenzo then hit a deep triple to beat the halftime buzzer, sending the Lakers into the locker room with a 59-48 deficit.
The Timberwolves picked up where they left off to begin the third quarter, scoring 11 straight points to force a Lakers timeout. Edwards hadn’t really gotten going to that point but he joined in on the fun from deep as Minnesota kept pouring it on.
The Lakers finally showed some life at the end of the third quarter with a 10-0 run, and Doncic then hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 94-78 going into the fourth.
Doncic hit another 3 to begin the fourth as momentum continued to shift in L.A.’s favor. After dealing with some cramps, Edwards returned and hit a pair of massive shots for his team. That took the momentum right back as Minnesota hit some big shots to close out an easy win.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers and Timberwolves will get a couple of days off before Game 2 at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night. The series will then shift to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4.
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