The Minnesota Timberwolves have earned three chances to close out their first-found Western Conference playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers and will take the floor for the first of those on Wednesday night in Los Angeles for Game 5.
The aggressive Timberwolves took a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven opening-round series by overwhelming the Lakers down the stretch of Game 4 with a 32-19 advantage in the fourth quarter en route to a 116-113 victory.
Anthony Edwards was every bit the star in the closing 12 minutes, scoring 16 of his game- and series-high 43 points. Edwards also made three of his five total 3-pointers in the fourth as Minnesota continued its overall revival that started a month-and-a-half before the regular season ended.
Counting the playoffs, the Timberwolves have gone 20-5 since March 2, all after Julius Randle returned from a groin injury. The team’s reconfigured roster struggled to find its identity after Randle’s arrival in the offseason but appears to be a cohesive unit now.
The victory in Game 4 came after the Lakers were up 12 points in the third and led by 10 with 11:25 left on the clock. Three Edwards free throws with 3:47 remaining took Minnesota from a 104-102 deficit into the lead. The Wolves never trailed again.
“There wasn’t any panic,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “It’s been a hallmark of this team in the second half of the season. … The guys always have a belief they can come back.”
Edwards added nine rebounds with six assists, while Randle scored 25 points and Jaden McDaniels had 16 points with 11 rebounds.
As McDaniel said: “We gotta stay together and when we do stay together, we can come back from big (deficits).”
For all of the attention the Lakers received this season — from LeBron James playing with his son Bronny to the shocking departure of Anthony Davis and subsequent addition of Luka Doncic — they now find themselves on the brink of elimination. Only a three-game winning streak can extend Los Angeles’ season now.
When Doncic was added, it appeared as if the team was planning for the future, willing to sacrifice defense in order to have a star in place upon James’ eventual departure. Except the Lakers found a winning formula with Doncic while under first-year head coach JJ Redick.
They now must find it again after a Game 4 loss when their stars remained on the floor the entire second half and appeared to run out of gas.
Doncic finished Game 4 with 38 points after he was slowed in Game 3 by a stomach bug. James, who had 27 points with 12 rebounds and eight assists, made no excuses in defeat.
“I don’t think fatigue had anything to do with that,” James said. “Just missing some point-blank shots. We were getting into what we wanted to get into. We just weren’t able to convert.”
The Lakers’ 45 percent shooting was better than the Timberwolves’ mark of 42.2 percent. In the fourth quarter, though, with Edwards digging deep on both sides of the floor, Los Angeles shot 27.8 percent, while Minnesota was at 45.5 percent.
“Obviously, you don’t think about winning three, you think about just getting the next one,” James said. “That’s the only thing that matters because if not, obviously, the offseason (begins). It’s all about Wednesday. That’s what’s important.”
