After splitting the first two games in L.A., the first round series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves shifted to Target Center for Game 3 on Friday night.
Having lost home-court advantage, the Lakers will have to win at least once on the road to take this series. It didn’t happen in Game 3 though as Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves pulled away late for a 116-104 victory.
Rui Hachimura kicked off the scoring with a triple and had five early points, but the Timberwolves got off to a much better start at home than they did in Games 1 and 2 to take a 15-7 lead after an 11-0 run.
LeBron James got out in transition and made a layup to end the run. That actually started a quick 7-0 burst for L.A. with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves both making jumpers. Doncic was dealing with a stomach bug so didn’t look like his usual self, but still tried to tough it out for his team.
Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVincenzo made some tough shots to keep Minnesota in front, and the Lakers looked a little sluggish, ending the first trailing 32-24.
After struggling from deep in the first two games, Reaves found his shot early in the second quarter with a pair of triples. James also had his jump shot working as he was in the zone to give the Lakers their first lead since the opening minutes.
With Doncic clearly not looking like himself, James and Reaves continued to carry the load offensively. Doncic connected from deep to end the half though and the Lakers took a 58-54 lead into the locker room.
Luka did not start the second half for the Lakers, although he checked in a minute later. Doncic was clearly laboring though and the Timberwolves ripped off a quick 8-0 run by getting hot from deep.
Turnovers were killing the Lakers and the Timberwolves took advantage by getting some easy buckets in the paint. The 3-point shot was keeping L.A. in it as Dorian Finney-Smith, Hachimura and Doncic all connected to cut the deficit to 86-84 at the end of the third.
The Lakers looked gassed to begin the fourth quarter with Minnesota extending its lead to seven by attacking the offensive glass.
With the game starting to slip away, LeBron hit three massive triples in a row to cut the deficit to one. Doncic then got in on the action with a pair of free throws and a bucket to tie it at 103.
After a Minnesota timeout, Edwards hit a big 3 to put his team back in front. Naz Reid then hit one as well, again putting the game in the balance for the Lakers.
This time though, L.A. had no answer as the gas tank was on empty with the Timberwolves closing out the night on a 13-1 run.
What’s next for the Lakers…
Game 4 is an early start time at 12:30 p.m. PT on Sunday in Minnesota before the series shifts back to the Lakers’ Crypto.com Arena for Game 5 on Wednesday.
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