LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers had a dissapointing start to their playoffs as they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-95 at Crypto.com Arena.
Young forward Jaden McDaniels had 25 points, center Naz Reid added 23 points and All-Star guard Anthony Edwards recorded 22 points to take down the favorite Lakers and get a 1-0 lead on the best of four series.
The Wolves grabbed the lead in the second quarter and never let go. They were up 11 points at halftime, doubled that lead two minutes into the third quarter, and ultimately built it to 27. They were the better team and the more physical squad, so this should awaken the Lakers to the possibility that this will be a challenging series.
Luka Doncic and LeBron James souls get snatched
The Timberwolves have a big force on the paint with French star center Rudy Gobert and his 7’1 presence as a big reason of Minnesota‘s success. However, the Wolves were at their most impressive, and dominant, when Gobert was on the bench and center Naz Reid was draining 3-pointers.
“This doesn’t mean Minnesota will do something as drastic as replace Gobert in the starting lineup at center with Reid, the reigning Sixth Man Award winner. But when the Wolves need buckets, it’s an easy call who should be on the floor.” NBA featured writer Shaun Powell wrote about the topic.
Reid shot 6-for-9 from deep, scoring 23 points in 30 minutes. Plus, with Gobert hampered by foul problems – he was targeted by Luka Doncic on the game’s very first play and committed a foul – the Wolves don’t need to worry about those mismatches when Gobert’s not in the game. Reid also represented a bench that was too much for the Lakers to handle.
Anthony Edwards has a huge chip on his shoulder
Anthony Edwards is one of the most exciting NBA players to watch and his skils and speed make him an unstoppable force. Last February, “Ant” appeared on an All-Star game for a third consecutive time, becoming just the second player in Timberwolves history to be named to three or more consecutive NBA All-Star games.
But that does not make Edwards and Minnesota favorites on their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Which is fine with the young baller, who prefers to be an underdog. “I love it. It’s dope. I love the fact that everybody wants the Lakers to win, that’s how it’s supposed to be,” he told local media.
The Wolves are on a great streak, as they went 17-4 over their final 21 games to finish 49-33, good enough to earn them the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. But they will have to overcome LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the rest of a Lakers team that wants to make a deep run in the playoffs.
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