MINNEAPOLIS — After letting Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves slip through their collective fingers on Friday night, nobody on the Lakers publicly referred to Sunday afternoon’s Game 4 as a “must-win” matchup.
But their actions, and specifically how Coach JJ Redick handled the team’s second-half rotation, said more than any words could.
Looking to prevent his team from going back to Southern California down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, Redick played his best statistical lineup from the regular season for the entire second half: Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura and LeBron James.
And the tactic nearly paid off, but the Lakers paid for multiple late-game mistakes, leading to them blowing a double-digit fourth-quarter lead and falling to the Timberwolves, 116-113, at Target Center. Reaves’ potential game-tying corner 3-pointer with one second left hit the front of the rim before hitting the backboard and popping back out.
Game 5 is on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena, with the Lakers now facing three must-win games in a row to extend their season.
Doncic bounced back from the stomach bug that affected him in Game 3 and led the Lakers with 38 points on 13-of-28 shooting. James finished with 27 points (going 15 for 18 at the free-throw line), 12 rebounds and eight assists. Hachimura added 23 points, while Reaves scored all 17 of his points in the second half (five 3-pointers).
The Lakers led 94-84 going into the fourth after their best lineup led the team to their best offensive quarter of the series, outscoring the Timberwolves 36-23 in the third as they spread out Minnesota’s defense and took advantage of them hedging/blitzing Doncic-led pick-and-rolls.
They made seven of their 14 3-point attempts in the third, with many of them being wide-open.
But whether it was heavy legs or improved defensive tactics from Minnesota with the Timberwolves switching more frequently and not blizting/double-teaming as much, the shots the Lakers made in the third didn’t fall at the same rate in the fourth, helping the Timberwolves take a 105-104 lead after Anthony Edwards made three free throws with just under four minutes remaining.
Minnesota’s lead grew to 111-107 with just over two minutes left after Donte DiVincenzo converted a three-point play.
The Lakers got a big sequence from Reaves to regain the lead: he made a 3-pointer to cut the Lakers’ deficit to 111-110; James then blocked a DiVincenzo shot at the rim on Minnesota’s ensuring possession, with Reaves assisting Finney-Smith on a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer in transition to put the Lakers ahead 113-111 with 1:29 left.
But Reaves fouled Jaden McDaniels on his dunk with 40 seconds left, with McDaniels making the free throw to give Minnesota a 114-113 lead. And after turning the ball over on an inbounds pass, James was assessed a defensive foul against Edwards that was originally ruled the Lakers’ ball but was changed after Minnesota challenged the play. Edwards made a pair of free throws to put the Timberwolves up by three with 10 seconds left.
With Doncic and James well-defensed along the arc on the final possession, the ball went to Reaves in the corner and McDaniels grabbed the rebound when it rimmed out at the buzzer.
Edwards finished with a game-high 43 points. Julius Randle added 25 points, while McDaniels had 16 points and 11 rebounds as Minnesota outscored the Lakers 32-19 in the fourth.
The Lakers jumped out to a 32-28 lead behind another strong start from Doncic, who scored 13 first-quarter points and was feeling better on Sunday after playing through a stomach bug on Friday.
Minnesota found its offensive rhythm in the second quarter, but James kept the Lakers in the game with his aggressiveness getting downhill, leading to 10 free-throw attempts in the second (making eight). He had half of the Lakers’ 26 points in the quarter, helping them trail by only three after Randle knocked down a pull-up 3-pointer to give the Timberwolves a 61-58 advantage going into halftime.
More to come on this story.
