The Los Angeles Lakers got a huge 94-85 win in game two of their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, bouncing back from an ugly home loss in game one. Luka Dončić scored 31, but the defensive effort was key.
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The Lakers held the Wolves to a season-low 85 points. They allowed only five made threes, compared to 21 in game one. However, outside of Luka, the Lakers still struggled offensively as a team. But in finding a way to slow down Minnesota’s attack, they answered questions from critics.
After Game 1, the predominant notion was that the Wolves had an advantage in athleticism and could get whatever shot they wanted against a Lakers defense that had been inconsistent this season. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett talked about what they saw in Game 2 on the KG Certified. Pierce, despite being a Celtic to his core, managed to stay objective and praise L.A. for bringing it in a must-win game.
“Credit to the Lakers, they took them out [of] their rhythm,” Pierce said before shouting out individual players for their defensive intensity.
“From [Gabe] Vincent, to [LeBron James], even Luka Dončić picks up at half-court, getting up on his man. You could tell that was an emphasis — get up on your man, make him drive, we gonna help and we gonna recover, and we gonna make them finish at the rim,” he added.
Garnett blamed his former team for not bringing the same kind of playoff intensity that they did in game one. “They resorted to regular season habits,” he said. “Everybody was playing for themselves.”
Now the series shifts to Minnesota for what promises to be an insane atmosphere at the Target Center. By the sound of it, at least, the Lakers are ready.
The Lakers are counting on their veteran leaders
The Lakers are one of the most experienced teams in the league. LeBron, now in his 22nd season and seeking his 11th Finals appearance, has been through more wars than he can count. That said, he has never faced Minnesota in the playoffs.
Luka has, though. He made the Finals last year with the Mavericks, going through Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals to do it.
The Wolves are notorious for having a wild home crowd, especially in the playoffs. However, they fared much better on the road last year. In their Western Conference semifinal matchup with the Denver Nuggets, the home team won only two of the seven games. Still, Luka knows that it’s going to take a huge effort for the Lakers to come away with a win.
“Going into Minnesota is going to be a war,” he said. “The fans are going to be cheering like crazy. So no matter what, we can’t panic. We got to stay together. And that’s on me and Bron to keep the team together.”
Fans should expect another low-scoring, physical slugfest when the two teams meet on Friday night. In their six meetings this year, the Lakers are averaging 96.5 points, while the Wolves are averaging 102.2. The game will be televised on ESPN at 9:30 p.m. ET.
