Lakers bounce back, muscle past Timberwolves in Game 2 to even series – Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES — The marching orders were clear for the Lakers entering Tuesday’s Game 2 matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves after their blowout loss in the series opener.

Be more aggressive. More organized. More physical.

Set the tone, rather than allow the Timberwolves to do so.

Mission accomplished, with the Lakers stepping up their aggressiveness in Tuesday’s 94-85 victory over the Timberwolves to tie the best-of-seven first-round series at 1-1 before heading to Minneapolis for Games 3 (Friday) and 4 (Sunday) at Target Center.

“We were very physical,” Coach JJ Redick said. “As were they.”

He added: “The playoffs require a different level.”

Luka Doncic once again led the Lakers from the jump, scoring 16 of his game-high 31 points in the opening quarter to help the hosts sprint to a 34-15 lead going into the second. The Lakers’ lead grew to as many as 22 points (53-31) late in the second quarter.

But it wasn’t just the scoring from Doncic, who had 37 points in Game 1, that helped propel the Lakers to victory.

It was their increased physicality with their defensive switching – evident in their 24 fouls after picking up just 10 on Saturday. It was not unnecessarily ceding space for the Timberwolves to attack or pick their defense apart. And being sharper with their off-ball/help defense.

“We did the same game plan,” Doncic said. “We didn’t really change much. It was just a question of if we were gonna be more physical or not. And we were for 48 minutes. We got up big in the first quarter. We learned from the last game. And we just stuck to it.”

It was also being more organized offensively by running through their sets more frequently and being more deliberate with how they attacked Minnesota’s defense after seeing in Game 1 that the Timberwolves weren’t deploying the hedging/blitzing defensive game plan they expected. And creating easier looks, which also helped keep the Timberwolves out of transition after scoring 25 fast-break points in Game 1.

“We could still be better offensively,” LeBron James said. “At times we were very sharp. But at times, we weren’t. We could do a better job on the offensive end, but we’re going to continue to get better, continue to watch the film, see ways we can kinda break down the defense and continue to get good looks.”

Even with the Timberwolves cutting their deficit to nine multiple times, including 90-81 late in the fourth quarter, the Lakers never lost control of a chippy, choppy game with 46 combined personal fouls and multiple video reviews. James and Rui Hachimura both took hard shots to the face. Hachimura left the game in the first after the hit to the face, going back to the locker room and returning to the Lakers’ bench in the second with a clear mask, which didn’t stay on his face for long when he re-entered the game. He played the second half in a black mask.

“He played like a warrior tonight,” Redick said of Hachimura.

After having a slow start in Game 1, James bounced back on Tuesday, finishing with 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Austin Reaves had 16 points, five assists and five rebounds, shooting 7 for 14 from the field despite missing all six of his 3-point attempts.

The third-seeded Lakers (6 for 29 – 20.7%) and sixth-seeded Timberwolves (5 for 25 – 20%) both struggled from behind the arc. The Wolves hit a franchise-record 21 3-pointers while blowing out the Lakers, 117-95, in Game 1.

In addition to his scoring total, Doncic had 12 rebounds and nine assists – eight more assists than he had in Game 1.

Doncic led the Lakers in getting deeper into the paint on drives, forcing the Timberwolves into rotation and creating openings in Minnesota’s defense.

Anthony Edwards (25 points, six rebounds) once again struggled against the help defense the Lakers showed him, shooting 10 for 22 from the field. The Lakers were even more aggressive with their defensive coverages against Edwards, trapping and blitzing him in pick and rolls, a factor in Edwards not recording an assist.

Julius Randle (team-high 27 points) was the only other Minnesota player to score in double figures as the Timberwolves shot just 38% overall on their way to a season-low point total.

Minnesota failed to take advantage of a 7-minute stretch between field goals for the Lakers in the fourth.

“We had some great looks,” James said. “I know a lot of my shots in the fourth quarter were great looks that just didn’t go. If we can continue to get great looks like that, I think we believe in our percentages. But we gotta continue to work the habits. We gotta continue to work the habits and continue to shoot the ball with confidence.