ö
The series is even, but even Tuesday night’s loss provided some reason to be encouraged.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic rebounds a ball against Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first quarter of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on April 22, 2025.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic rebounds a ball against Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first quarter of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on April 22, 2025. / Kiyoshi Mio /
The Minnesota Timberwolves will leave La La Land having stolen home court, but their Western Conference first-round series is even at 1-1 following Tuesday night’s 94-85 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Tuesday’s loss showed vulnerability, revealed some reasons for the Wolves to be concerned and also some reasons to be encouraged as they progress through the rest of the best-of-seven series. Here are five things that stood out in Game 2:
Fouls, fouls, fouls
Lakers coach J.J. Redick said his team didn’t seem ready for the physicality the Wolves brought to Game 1. The Lakers were sure ready for it in Game 2, and it led to a chippy back and forth between the two sides that resulted in 46 total fouls.
Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo all found themselves in foul trouble for the Wolves; DiVincenzo, in particular, had to sit for a long stretch in the first half after picking up his third, which even led to some minutes for Terrence Shannon Jr. DiVincenzo ended up only playing 16 minutes. No Wolves players fouled out Tuesday.
But for the conspiracy theorists among the Wolves faithful, Minnesota did commit a lot of obvious fouls. And of the 46 fouls called, the Wolves were whistled for 22 — the Lakers 24. And Minnesota shot more free throws (25 to 20 for L.A.).
My goodness Luka Doncic
A thought that comes to mind every time Doncic takes the court: The Dallas Mavericks traded this guy?
There is not a reason in the world that will ever make sense as to why. Doncic was truly phenomenal Tuesday night, exploding for 16 points in the first quarter as his Lakers took a 19-point lead, and ultimately finished with a game-high 31 points, 12 boards and nine assists. He had a game-best plus-minus of plus-12 and made everyone around him better.
Most encouraging for the Lakers: his nine assists after Doncic recorded just one in the series opener.
Wolves need more from Rudy Gobert
Minnesota has a massive size advantage in this series, and there’s no player larger than Gobert. But through two games, he hasn’t made much of an impact. Gobert had just six points, six rebounds and was a minus-2 in 29 minutes on Tuesday.
There were questions whether Gobert would be played off the court in this series against a Lakers team that plays small lineups and makes you switch, and while not every matchup is advantageous for the big man, there are opportunities for him to make an impact, particularly on the glass. In the two games, Gobert has just 12 total rebounds and only two on the offensive glass. It’s far from the dominant presence he was on both ends of the boards at the end of the regular season.
The Wolves were outrebounded 41-34 Tuesday night. That should not happen in a series in which they have a significant size advantage. Minnesota needs Gobert to get back to setting the tone on the boards and being dominant on the glass. Even a few offensive boards and putbacks would have a significant impact if the Wolves aren’t shooting well like Tuesday.
Bench no-shows
The story of Game 1 was Minnesota’s bench, which provided 43 points, including a heater from Reid.
In Game 2, the Wolves got 19 points off their bench on just 6-for-19 shooting. That is simply not going to cut it.
Reid shot just 3 for 8 and scored nine points; DiVincenzo had four points on 1-for-4 shooting and was a game-worst minus-17; and Nickeil Alexander-Walker shot just 1 for 6 for four points, though he was a team-best plus-8. Shannon made his lone attempt from the field and was a plus-7 in seven minutes. It wasn’t a particularly impressive showing.
On the bright side, the Lakers got just 15 points from their bench, and it’s not likely Reid, DiVincenzo and Alexander-Walker shoot a combined 27% from the field again. Depth is a strength for the Wolves, they just didn’t show it on Tuesday.
Encouraging loss
It’s a bit oxymoronic, but the Timberwolves should leave Crypto.com Arena feeling good about their chances in this series. They couldn’t have started the game worse, they couldn’t have shot worse, half the team was in foul trouble and they had some clear defensive lapses. Despite all of that, it was a single-digit game late and they had a chance to win.
Despite the lapses on defense, they still held the Lakers to 94 points. Despite digging themselves a 22-point hole, getting outrebounded and shooting just 38% from the field, it was a nine-point game midway through the fourth quarter.
The national pundits may be singing the praises of the Lakers Wednesday morning, but the true takeaway from Tuesday night’s Game 2 is the Wolves played a lousy game and still had a chance in L.A. Expect better in Game 3 at Target Center.
Leave a Reply