Melissa Rohlin
Fox Sports NBA writer
After the Timberwolves of Minnesota surprised the Los Angeles Lakers in game 1 of their first -round playoff series, leading up to 27 points on the local court of Los Angeles, Anthony Edwards was asked the Tot Lakers.
“There is no message, man,” said Edwards, “they still have the Lakers. The Lakers must win. Thus it is supposed to go. They are not supposed to be here. Then, we are just going to compete.”
Edwards played great, but the Timberwolves delivered an emphatic message in their 117-95 victory on Saturday: Do not sleep with us.
Yes, the Lakers are the third seed and have two of the largest superstars of the league in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. But the Timberwolves arrived at the finals of the West Conference last season and, although they have had some potholes this season, they are deep, physical and hungry.
For the Lakers, things got out of control quickly. They were in control in the first quarter, with maid scoring 16 points to give the Lakers a 28-21 advantage, although James and Austin Reaves face 0 by 5 combined over that period. It seemed that he was surely going to hit the Timberwolves as soon as flooding shames opened for his other two superstars.
The only problem was that James and Reaves remained cold, leaving Doncic on an island against a Timberwolves team that was about to set fire. In the second quarter, the Timberwolves surpassed the Lakers, 38-20. The flood continued in the third quarter, with the Timberwolves, leaving for part time with an 11-0 race.
The Lakers not only lost. They were humiliated. Sometimes, they seemed to rush, with them gesturing their intentional frustration of running back to defense.
The question now is: are the Lakers in trouble?
Obviously, they are not panic: “We let the rope go,” said Doncic, who had 37 points and eight rebounds. “I think they simply beat us physically from the beginning,” said Reaves, who had 16 points in 5 of 13 shots. “We have to do a better job by controlling the controllable,” said James, who had 19 points, thought he took 18 shots to get them.
Crypto.com Arena fans, who opened the night, cheating wildly in the celebration of the Lakers who had an advantage in the local court in the playoffs for the first time since 2020, they were surprised in almost the silence in the second quarter.
The Timberwolves surpassed the defense of the Lakers, with swarm bodies, and in the offensive, with a flood of 3 points, making a record of franchise playoffs 21 3 Pinters in 42 attempts beyond the ARC (50 percent). Jaden McDaniels scored 25 points. Naz Reid added 23 points with six triples. And Edwards had 22 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
It was a complete team effort for the Timberwolves, who kept things in perspective despite its dominant performance.
“It means game 1,” said Minnesota coach Chris Finch. “We know that it will be a long series. We are not assuming that this type of game is in game 2. It will be a consumption game.
Both teams had approximately one week free after securing their respective seeds.
But with the way things take place on Saturday, it seemed that the Lakers miscalculated that their success would recently carry the postseason, while the Timberwolves prepared for war.
Devils, the Timberwolves were even locked up on their journey by plane to Los Angeles.
“The four hours we were on the way here, we talked, we saw games when [the Lakers] He played against OKC, when they play against Dallas, “Edwards said.
Everything worked for the Timberwolves, who made it clear that they cannot be overlooked.
As for the Lakers, they expect the game 1 to be just an anomaly, unlike the beginning of the end.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for Fox Sports. She previously covered the Sports Illustrated League, the Los Angeles Times, the news group from the Bay area and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @Melissarohlin.
Los Angeles Lakers
Minnesota Timberwolves
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