Lakers career playoff debut! Doncic 37+8 James 19 points difficult to beat the Timberwolves 0-1

On April 20, Beijing time, the first round of the 2024-25 NBA playoffs is underway, the Lakers lost to the Timberwolves 95-117 at home, and the Lakers fell behind the Timberwolves 0-1 in the series. It is worth mentioning that the Timberwolves shot 21 of 42 three-pointers in this game.

Statistics

Lakers: James 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks, Doncic scored 37 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals in his Lakers career playoff debut, Reaves 16 points

Timberwolves: Edwards 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, Randle 16 points, McDaniels 25 points and nine rebounds, Reed 23 points

Background

The Lakers entered the playoffs this season with a 50-32 record (third in the West), while the Timberwolves entered the playoffs as sixth in the West (49-33). The Lakers and Timberwolves have met four times in the regular season this season, with two wins each. It is worth mentioning that this matchup is not only Doncic's playoff debut for the Lakers, but also a continuation of his feud with the Timberwolves last season. In the Western Conference finals last season, Doncic, who was still playing for the Mavericks at the time, led the team to eliminate the Timberwolves with a big score of 4-1, especially in G2, Doncic faced Gobert and hit a three-point winner. Doncic averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game in 28 games for the Lakers during the regular season. The 40-year-old James is still the soul of the Lakers, averaging 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game in his 22nd season in the NBA.

Game recap

After the opening, Doncic showed a strong desire to attack, and at 11 minutes and 5 seconds, he hit a three-point shot against Randle to score the first playoff goal of his Lakers career. After that, Doncic was even more firing, scoring 14 of the Lakers' first 20 points to help the team gain an eight-point advantage. Edwards' two offenses were still unable to bother the Lakers, and thanks to Vincent, Finney Smith and Doncic's scoring, the Lakers led the Timberwolves 28-21 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the situation on the court changed abruptly, and the Timberwolves came up with a wave of 26-6 offensive climax, overtaking the score 47-34. Hachimura's three-pointer helped the Lakers stabilize their morale, and Doncic and James also made contributions, and the Lakers narrowed the gap to eight points. However, DiVincenzo's buzzer-beating three-pointer gave the Timberwolves a 59-48 lead at the end of the first half.

In the second half, the Timberwolves came up with another wave of 11-0 offensive to extend the lead to 22 points. At the critical moment, James and Reaves teamed up to hit two three-pointers, but the Timberwolves will become more and more courageous, and after Reed scored three points into the net, the Timberwolves rewrote the score to 88-61. At 3 minutes and 2 seconds, Edwards felt discomfort in his calf after the breakthrough landed, and then returned to the locker room for examination. The Lakers took the opportunity to go on a 17-6 run, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Doncic. At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers chased the score to 78-94.

In the final quarter, Doncic and James teamed up to help the Lakers narrow the gap to 12 points. At the critical moment, Randle, Edwards and Reed combined to shoot three three-pointers to defend the Timberwolves' lead. Although the Lakers did their part afterwards, it didn't help. At 3 minutes and 2 seconds, Bronny came on the court, but all 2 consecutive outside shots were missed.

Both sides start

Lakers: LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Hachimura, Austin Reaves, Jaxson Hayes

Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley