The Los Angeles Lakers have secured an important victory in their playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After losing their first home game, the Californians allowed only 85 points. Luka Doncic and LeBron James also excelled on offense.
In game two, we will show a response to Minnesota’s physical dominance in game one, LeBron James had boasted before the second encounter. He was right: the Lakers played much more aggressively than three days ago. Especially in the zone, the big men Hachimura, LeBron, and Hayes tried to give their opponents little space.
On offense, the team was carried for long stretches by the once again outstanding Luka Doncic. The Slovenian scored 31 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out nine assists, narrowly missing a triple-double.
The Los Angeles team got off to a much better start and won the first quarter 34-15. The outstanding Luka Doncic scored more points than the entire opposing team (16) in the opening quarter.
The Timberwolves, on the other hand, had great difficulty finding their way back into the game. The visitors never really got into a rhythm, with star players Edwards (25) and Randle (27) mostly having to pick up the slack. A comeback was long in coming due to poor three-point shooting (5/25).
Fortunately for the Timberwolves, the Lakers fared similarly in this regard. The Californians also hit just under 20 percent of their long-range shots (6/29), leaving the door open for a comeback. However, Reid only reduced the deficit to -9 (81:90) with three minutes remaining, by which point the game was already over.
The third game of the series is just two days away. Home advantage now switches to Minnesota.
