Timberwolves race past Lakers to take Game 1 of series

LOS ANGELES Minnesota knew all week what approach it would need to beat the defense the Wolves were sure the Lakers would employ in this series Los Angeles would clog the paint to cut off driving lanes leaving a number of open shooters out on the perimeter It was on the Wolves to knock the triple tries down Anthony Edwards laid it out only on Wednesday We all gotta be on the same page the guard stated At this point in the season it don t matter who gets points points It don t matter if I have five points It don t matter if Julius has five points Particular nights it might be Naz gets This whole series Jaden might average It doesn t matter who gets all the buckets and shots man We gotta be willing to shoot the ball no matter if we making or missing shots We gotta be confident They were nothing if not that in Battle on Saturday Trailing by seven after one frame Minnesota exploded offensively over the final three quarters to trounce the Lakers - And Jaden McDaniels had points Naz Reid had Edwards had and Randle had Minnesota drilled triples on a night where it shot percent from deep The majority of those looks were open Once we settled into the gameplan and offensively picked up our pace and our decision making and the concepts that we had been focusing on things started coming together Wolves coach Chris Finch mentioned The entire offense opened up to start the second frame when Reid and Donte DiVincenzo injected pace into the match both through getting up and down the floor but also with heavy ball and athlete movement in the half court Outstanding job by those guys coming in and giving us a jolt at the right time Finch declared The Lakers have savvy players who can play good company defense when set but Minnesota was able to move the slower bodies via passing and cutting which caused the Lakers defense to largely collapse Edwards missed the final half of the third quarter after leaving the contest with cramps but he returned early in the final frame Los Angeles trailed by at one point in the third but trimmed its deficit to points in the fourth quarter as Luka Doncic who had a game-high points but just one assist went on another of his numerous flurries in the meeting But Edwards and Randle hit a couple tough jumpers to stem the tide and Minnesota eventually put the challenge to bed to grab a - series lead Contest is in Los Angeles on Tuesday Related Articles Timberwolves playoffs From contracts to reputation what s at stake things the Timberwolves must do to upset the Lakers plus a prediction Can Anthony Edwards out-think the Lakers Timberwolves playoff hopes depend on it Will Timberwolves Rudy Gobert struggle against Lakers small-ball lineup Julius Randle struck offensive balance in Minnesota Will that be better playoff formula