With Luka Doncic and LeBron James leading the way, the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back in a big way to even up their playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Following a disappointing Game 1, the Lakers cranked up their defense, holding Minnesota to just 85 points in their Game 2 victory.
After being blown out on their home court, the Lakers had to quickly turn the page and come out much different on Tuesday night and in the eyes of LeBron, the most important thing is for this team to remain even-keeled.
“Like you just said, it’s about staying even-keeled,” James said after the Lakers’ win. “It doesn’t matter if you lose by 100 or you lose by one. Both are gonna hurt. So it’s about how you stay even-keeled and how you make adjustments going into Game 2 or Game 3, whatever the case may be.
“I thought we looked at what we didn’t do so well, which is a lot of things in Game 1. We took that to heart, we held each other accountable and made the adjustments and we got a better outcome tonight. Now we have to be even better on Friday going to Minnesota. That’s what the playoffs are all about. You’ve got to stay even-keeled.”
Beating the Timberwolves in Minnesota won’t be easy and the Lakers’ offense will still need to be better. LeBron feels they can still improve, though he was happy with the looks they generated.
“We can say we’re better offensively. I thought at times, we were very sharp. but at times, we weren’t,” James noted. “I think we can do a better job on the offensive end. We’re going to continue to work at it. … If we can continue to get great looks like that, I think we believe in our percentages. So we got to continue to work the habits.”
The Lakers shot just 6-of-29 from deep with James and Austin Reaves combining to go 1-of-11 despite many open looks. But regardless of the shooting struggles, LeBron still came out and set the example for his team, which he believes is extremely important in leading the Lakers
“By going out there and showing them by example,” James responded when asked how he gets through to his younger teammates. “And it’s easier to go out and just talk about it. …. But you also have to go out and lead by example, and I’m one of the guys that if I’m going to talk about it, I’m going to do it as well.
“I think that’s a great way to be able to hold yourself accountable, and you can’t ask of your teammates or people to make sacrifices, all those things that you’re not gonna do. I’ve always kind of had that mentality, whatever I ask of my guys, whatever I ask of my teammates. They can ask of me.”
That intensity was on full display late in the game as the Timberwolves were trying to make a late comeback. But with Anthony Edwards coming down in transition, James snuck behind him for a huge steal and layup on the other end basically icing the game.
“Well, they had numbers, I don’t remember what happened, but I knew they had numbers, and I was being there, I was crossing the floor, and I seen, I think Jaden McDaniels was passing to Ant. … But I was coming across the floor, and I mean, I was the most dangerous player, I was the most dangerous man,” LeBron said. “So I was able to kind of sneak in through the rear view, through the right side. And I was able to just kind of use my, I guess, athleticism and smarts, whatever the case may be.
“If I wasn’t able to steal it, at least I could make him change directions. And I was able to reach for the ball, before seen me in the blind spot. I was able to steal it and go coast to coast. It wasn’t about the points. I think at that point, it was about the momentum, that type of steal, that type of play to be able to finish in that moment. They could have cut it to six, or four-point play, cut it to five. So for us to push it back to a double-digit lead at that point. That was very key.”
That LeBron play was absolutely crucial and ensured the Lakers would even up what looks to be a very long first round playoff series.
Luka Doncic believes Lakers can still do a better job of attacking the paint
One of the biggest differences for the Lakers in Game 2 was their ability to get in the paint against this Timberwolves defense, but Luka Doncic still feels they can be better in that aspect. The superstar guard noted that the Lakers have to get in the paint as much as possible and even though it was better on Tuesday, there is still room for improvement.
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