The only thing that moved slower than the Lakers was the clock.
They had poured their energy into fighting for everything while building a lead that stretched to 22 in the first half and lived at 20 deep into the second half. They had grabbed and clawed and got clawed and got grabbed and it was still there, a big lead, the Timberwolves and the clock left to beat to even the series at 1-1 and save a split on their home court.
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But Minnesota got stronger, faster and smarter. And the Lakers mentally and physically got slower.
Two big mistakes from Jaxson Hayes led to five fast Minnesota points. Luka Doncic, who had been fully engaged on the defensive side of the ball, was flat-footed as Anthony Edwards rammed into the paint. Wide-open threes rimmed out.
And the kind of two-on-one fast break with Austin Reaves and LeBron James that usually would be an alley-oop became an alley-oops when Reaves threw the ball too high and James missed the layup.
Luka Doncic and Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert battle for a rebound in the second quarter. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
But the clock kept ticking. And the Lakers kept fighting, drawing enough charges, grabbing enough rebounds, scoring enough (barely) to beat Minnesota, 94-85 on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
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If Game 1 showed that the Lakers’ standing as heavy favorites in the series was wrong, Game 2 showed that whatever comes next might leave scars.
After coach JJ Redick challenged his team to meet Minnesota’s intensity and physicality, the teams ripped and reached and held and hammered while they played like each possession would determine who won and lost.
The all-capital, bolded-letter story from the first quarter of the Lakers’ playoffs Saturday was Luka Doncic showing why he’s one of the NBA’s most gifted difference-makers. He can be a one-man show, too hard for any player to stop, too skilled to be denied.
But it was singular. The Lakers’ excellence? It needed to be plural.
LeBron James shoots over the outstretched arms of Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in the first quarter. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The playoffs would demand more than Doncic getting buckets. It would require James cutting sharply into the paint to create extra space. It would force Reaves to fight like hell for every step on the defensive end.
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It doesn’t work the other way. It didn’t work when it was that way in Game 1.
So Tuesday night, facing the first unofficial “must-win” of the playoffs, the Lakers played in unison early, even if Doncic was the only one really hitting shots.
And while Doncic was able to create the usual mismatch advantages, the Lakers found themselves totally stifled by Minnesota’s defense.
Doncic scored 31, James had 21 and Reaves scored 16, but the Lakers shot just 20.7% from three-point range. Luckily, Minnesota wasn’t any better, getting 52 combined points from Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards and not more than nine from anyone else.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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