After the Minnesota Timberwolves surprised the Los Angeles Lakers in Sport 1 of their first-round playoff collection, main by as a lot as 27 factors on Los Angeles’ house court docket, Anthony Edwards was requested if he had a message for the entire nationwide media that picked the Lakers to win.
“No message, man,” Edwards mentioned, “They nonetheless received the Lakers. The Lakers are speculated to win. That is simply the way it’s speculated to go. We’re not speculated to be right here. So, we’re simply going to compete.”
Edwards performed it cool, however the Timberwolves delivered an emphatic message of their 117-95 win on Saturday: Do not sleep on us.
Sure, the Lakers are the third seed and have two of the most important superstars within the league in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. However the Timberwolves made it to the Western Convention Finals final season, and, despite the fact that they’ve had some bumps this season, they’re deep, bodily and hungry.
For the Lakers, issues received out of hand rapidly. They have been in management within the first quarter, with Doncic scoring 16 factors to offer the Lakers a 28-21 lead, regardless of James and Austin Reaves going a mixed 0-for-5 over that interval. It appeared as if LA was certainly going to clobber the Timberwolves as quickly because the floodgates opened for its different two superstars.
The one drawback was James and Reaves remained chilly, leaving Doncic on an island in opposition to a Timberwolves group that was about to catch fireplace. Within the second quarter, the Timberwolves outscored the Lakers, 38-20. The barrage continued within the third quarter, with the Timberwolves storming out of halftime with an 11-0 run.
The Lakers did not simply lose. They have been humiliated. At occasions, it seemed as if they weren’t even making an attempt, with them gesticulating their frustration as a substitute of operating again on protection.
The query now’s: Are the Lakers in hassle?
They’re clearly not panicking: “We let go of the rope,” mentioned Doncic, who had 37 factors and eight rebounds. “I believe that they simply bodily beat us from the get-go,” mentioned Reaves, who had 16 factors on 5-for-13 taking pictures. “We gotta do a greater job of controlling the controllables,” mentioned James, who had 19 factors, although it took him 18 pictures to get them.
The followers at Crypto.com Enviornment, who opened the evening wildly cheering in celebration of the Lakers having house court docket benefit within the playoffs for the primary time since 2020, have been surprised into near-silence within the second quarter.
The Timberwolves overwhelmed the Lakers – on protection, with swarming our bodies, and on offense, with a 3-point barrage, making a franchise playoff-record 21 3-pointers on 42 makes an attempt from past the arc (50 %). Jaden McDaniels scored 25 factors. Naz Reid added 23 factors with six 3-pointers. And Edwards had 22 factors, 9 assists and eight rebounds.
It was a whole group effort for the Timberwolves, who saved issues in perspective regardless of their dominant efficiency.
“It means Sport 1,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch mentioned. “We all know it’ll be a protracted collection. We’re not underneath any assumption that it’ll be the sort of sport in Sport 2. It will be a totally totally different sport. We received loads left. A variety of meat on the bone on the market. A variety of issues. I do know we are able to do higher.”
Each groups had a couple of week off after clinching their respective seeds.
However with the best way issues performed out Saturday, it appeared as if the Lakers miscalculated that their latest success would carry into the postseason, whereas the Timberwolves ready for conflict.
Heck, the Timberwolves have been even locked in on their airplane experience to Los Angeles.
“The 4 hours that we was on our approach right here, we talked, we watched video games when [the Lakers] performed in opposition to OKC, once they performed in opposition to Dallas,” Edwards mentioned.
All of it labored out for the Timberwolves, who made it clear they cannot be ignored.
As for the Lakers, they’re hoping Sport 1 was simply an anomaly, versus the start of the top.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA author for FOX Sports activities. She beforehand lined the league for Sports activities Illustrated, the Los Angeles Occasions, the Bay Space Information Group and the San Antonio Specific-Information. Observe her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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