After the Minnesota Timberwolves surprised the Los Angeles Lakers in Recreation 1 of their first-round playoff sequence, main by as a lot as 27 factors on Los Angeles’ residence courtroom, Anthony Edwards was requested if he had a message for all the nationwide media that picked the Lakers to win.
“No message, man,” Edwards mentioned, “They nonetheless bought the Lakers. The Lakers are purported to win. That is simply the way it’s purported to go. We’re not purported to be right here. So, we’re simply going to compete.”
Edwards performed it cool, however the Timberwolves delivered an emphatic message of their 117-95 win on Saturday: Do not sleep on us.
Sure, the Lakers are the third seed and have two of the most important superstars within the league in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. However the Timberwolves made it to the Western Convention Finals final season, and, regardless that they’ve had some bumps this season, they’re deep, bodily and hungry.
For the Lakers, issues bought out of hand shortly. They have been in management within the first quarter, with Doncic scoring 16 factors to offer the Lakers a 28-21 lead, regardless of James and Austin Reaves going a mixed 0-for-5 over that interval. It appeared as if LA was certainly going to clobber the Timberwolves as quickly because the floodgates opened for its different two superstars.
The one downside was James and Reaves remained chilly, leaving Doncic on an island in opposition to a Timberwolves staff that was about to catch fireplace. Within the second quarter, the Timberwolves outscored the Lakers, 38-20. The barrage continued within the third quarter, with the Timberwolves storming out of halftime with an 11-0 run.
The Lakers did not simply lose. They have been humiliated. At occasions, it seemed as if they weren’t even making an attempt, with them gesticulating their frustration as an alternative of operating again on protection.
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