Lakers 94, Timberwolves 85: Minnesota Offense Falls Silent

After an offensive explosion in Game 1, the Timberwolves offense fell silent in Game 2 as the Lakers tied up the series.

Following possibly their most impressive performance in Game 1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves returned to Crypto.com Arena for Game 2 of their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

As many assumed they would, the Lakers came out with much more energy and aggression. That added ball pressure caused the Wolves’ offense to sputter, as they scored just four points in the first four and a half minutes of the game. This allowed the Lakers to build an early eight-point lead, just like in Game 1.

The difference with tonight’s Game 2 is that the Timberwolves were unable to turn it around after the slow start, only scoring 15 points in the first quarter. The defense wasn’t much better, as the Lakers scored 34 points, including 16 from Luka Dončić, en route to a 19-point lead.

With the Lakers’ lead growing as high as 22 points midway through the second quarter, the Wolves looked absolutely lost on both ends of the court. Dončić and LeBron James were getting to their spots on the court, Anthony Edwards only had six points, and the Wolves’ bench, which was so dominant in Game 1, only had four points, with Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid both picking up three fouls.

With four minutes left in the half, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch elected to bring in Terrence Shannon Jr, looking for any spark to get Minnesota back into the game. The addition of Shannon, along with a more dedicated scoring effort from Ant, allowed the close the half on a 12-5 run, bringing the deficit down to a more manageable 15 points.

Edwards would start the second half in style with another poster dunk, throwing down a two-handed jam through contact on Jaxson Hayes.

The Timberwolves would slowly whittle the LA lead down to 11 before surrendering a 9-0 run that pushed the deficit right back to 20 points halfway through the third quarter.

Despite a lack of quality offense for almost the entire game, the Wolves continued finding ways to reduce the Lakers’ lead. It was a slow process, largely led by quality defense and rebounding. Minnesota was able to force a Los Angeles timeout with just over six minutes left after bringing the deficit down to single digits.

Coming out of the timeout, the Wolves forced a stop and got a wide-open 3-pointer for Edwards, but he couldn’t knock it down. The Lakers pushed the ball in transition after the miss and found James streaking to the hoop for a layup. What could have been the Wolves cutting the deficit to six turned into an 11-point Laker lead.

That would prove to be enough to carry the Lakers to victory, as despite LA only scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter, Minnesota couldn’t find enough offense to overcome the 16-point fourth quarter deficit as the Wolves fell 94-85.

Edwards and Julius Randle combined for 52 points, but were the only source of consistent offense for the Timberwolves as the rest of the team only scored 33 points. Dončić was outstanding, putting up 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists.

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Key Takeaways

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Increased Laker Physicality

The Lakers made it a clear point of emphasis to come out of the games playing with an increased level of energy and physicality, one that the Wolves had trouble matching early on in the game. It was a complete switch from the first game of the series, one that was telegraphed by how Lakers coach JJ Redick spoke about his team’s effort.

The Wolves seemed caught off guard by the increased intensity, putting together a truly dreadful first quarter that they never really recovered from. While the Wolves outscored the Lakers by ten points in quarters two through four, the 19-point hole they dug themselves in the first quarter made the comeback attempt nearly impossible.

When asked why about the Wolves’ lack of energy, Finch disagreed with that as the reason for the poor first quarter.

“I thought our energy was good early on. I thought guys actually were playing hard and they needed a second wind early. I mean, our execution was not good. They didn’t really make a ton of, like, tactical adjustments. They just were super physical, holding on a lot of the screens and being aggressive and trying to jump out on a lot of screens and pressuring the ball a lot more.”

Finch wasn’t the only one who was asked about the physicality of the game, as Mike Conley spoke in the locker room after the game about the increased physicality from their opponent.

“Honestly, it was a lot similar to the first game. They came out with the same type of energy. They’re aggressive, they’re very forceful offensively. Defensively, they picked up their intensity, things we expected. For whatever reason, we just didn’t match it. We didn’t come with the same level of aggression that we had in the first game.”

From a Wolves fan’s perspective, it can be frustrating to hear about not being able to match the intensity of the opponent, especially after Game 1, where the Wolves were the aggressor in that area. So many of the Timberwolves’ shortcomings this season have come from self-inflicted issues, and that was true again tonight.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker gave further insight into that idea and the team’s mindset heading back home for Game 3.

“It’s just about us. All season long, it’s been about us. We can give credit to like, oh yeah, they played physical, they played hard. Sure, but at the end of the day, we can control our input and how we approach the game. So I’ll say it’s just us.”

At many times this season, the Timberwolves have been their own worst enemy. They have shown flashes of being the type of team that could repeat the success they had a year ago, but have far too often have gotten in their own way.

This Timberwolves roster has many of the pieces needed to be a successful team in the playoffs. They have a superstar that can go toe-to-toe with anyone, supplemental role players that excel in their own ways, and a deep bench that should be a reason for optimism in this series despite the rough Game 2.

While the Lakers are far from a pushover, especially considering they are led by a pair of all-time players, the longer this series goes, the more it feels like if the Timberwolves play their best game, they can win on any given night. Tuesday night in Los Angeles was far from the Timberwolves’ top performance, but the path to winning this series is still right in front of them.

An Underrated Defensive Effort

Despite the putrid game of the offensive end, the Wolves’ defense was outstanding in Game 2, holding the Lakers to just 94 total points, including just 20 points per quarter after the disastrous first 12 minutes.

Edwards spoke after the game about how he feels the defense played in tonight’s game despite the loss.

“Yeah, for sure. I mean, they got off to a fast start. Like how many points they had in the first quarter? 30 something? Yeah, so you would be thinking they was on pace for 120, but we found a way to get our defense back tight. So yeah, I feel like we should be going into game three smiling. I mean, because we fought back from 20 and we had a chance.”

In both games, the Wolves have held the Lakers to 95 points or fewer. While Luka and LeBron have both had success on the offensive end, the Wolves have been able to hold the Lakers team as a whole to relatively inefficient offense..

One area of worry for the heading into the series was Rudy Gobert potentially guarding in space against smaller players, especially Dončić. At the podium following the game, Gobert spoke about how he feels those defensive possessions have gone.

“I’ve got to look at the numbers. I think some of the times they score, some of the times I do a pretty good job. You must know better than I do, the numbers. But there’s always things that I’ve got to do better, we’ve got to do better. But overall, as a defender, that’s what I enjoy. I enjoy guarding the best players in the world and I always embrace that challenge.”

Overall, Gobert has done well guarding in space as none of Austin Reaves, Dončić, or James have been able to get easy buckets when isolated on Gobert.

While many of the buckets Los Angeles scores are loud, especially when Dončić hits a shot reminiscent of the one he hit over Gobert in last year’s Western Conference Finals, Gobert and the Wolves defense have done a good job defending the Lakers overall in this series.

After the first quarter, the Wolves’ defense was able to stop the bleeding and keep them within striking distance late in the game. They may have run out of time in their comeback attempts, but if the Minnesota defense is going to continue guarding at this high a level, it won’t take much of a turnaround from the offense for Game 3 back at Target Center to look a lot different.

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Up Next

With the series now tied 1-1, the Timberwolves head home to Minnesota, where the crowd will certainly be electric. Game 3 at Target Center tips off on Friday at 8:30 PM CT, airing on ESPN.

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