Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes
The Lakers and Timberwolves squared off last night in the 7 vs 8 game of the play-in and it was both exciting and ugly to say the least.
It all started on Easter Sunday, which was a nightmare of a day for the T-Wolves. First, Jaden McDaniels suffered a broken hand from punching a wall out of anger during halftime and then Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson got into it, ending with Gobert swinging at Anderson. The Timberwolves came into the game missing both Jaden McDaniels, one of the best on ball defenders in the league, and Rudy Gobert, who is serving a one game suspension.
Although the odds were against them, the Timberwolves hung around with the Lakers in a very competitive first quarter until the T-Wolves pulled away and took a comfortable lead in the second quarter, thanks to Mike Conley. The Lakers stayed within striking distance for the majority of the game and once Karl Anthony Towns got into foul trouble…they pounced.
The Lakers defense held the Timberwolves to seven points in the final 11 minutes of the fourth quarter while rallying from a 15-point deficit. Then, with just 1.4 seconds remaining Dennis Schroder hit a corner three to give the Lakers a three point lead. It wasn’t long after that Mike Conley threw up a prayer from the opposite corner and…got fouled, fitting for how this game went. Conley knocked down all three free throws, sending the game to overtime. Davis took full accountability for the foul:
“That was totally on me…he faded out of bounds where I was going. But it goes back to the next-play mentality…”
Anthony Davis
In overtime, the Lakers got the job done led by a 30-point, 10-rebound, 6-assist performance from LeBron, a 24-point and 15-rebound performance by Anthony Davis, and a 21-point performance by Dennis Schroder. The Timberwolves were led by Karl Anthony Towns who put up 24-11-5 and Mike Conley who added 23 points on 6/8 shooting from three.
The Lakers will advance to face the Grizzlies in round one while the Timberwolves will host the Pelicans or Thunder on Friday for the eighth spot and a first-round date with top-seeded Denver.
