The Los Angeles Lakers scored 34 points in the first quarter of Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Luka Doncic single-handedly outscored the entire Wolves team, which only managed to gather 15 points in the period. Despite Minnesota clawing back throughout the game, they couldn’t overcome their sluggish start and fell 94-85.
Doncic scored a game-high 31 points in Game 2, and like in Game 1, he scored 16 points in the first quarter.
If the Timberwolves keep allowing Doncic to score 30-plus points, that’s fine. However, they cannot keep letting him score most of his points in the first quarter. The Wolves need to at the very least contain Doncic and aim to keep him under 10 points in every quarter.
When Doncic scores so quickly and often, it starts a chain reaction. It rapidly creates a double-digit deficit, contributes to key Timberwolves players like Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo getting into early foul trouble, and throws Minnesota off rhythm for the rest of the game.
However, Doncic wasn’t the sole reason Minnesota’s bench duo got into foul trouble. The Lakers immediately came out physically prepared and were savvy. It seemed like Los Angeles was playing chess while Minnesota was playing Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.
The Lakers imposed their physicality within the acceptable range of playoff basketball. Meanwhile, Reid and DiVincenzo retaliated with elbows to the heads and necks of Lakers players. It shook the Timberwolves and hampered their aggressive tactics.
“We were very physical tonight, as were they,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after securing his first postseason win. “We were physical. The playoffs require a different level.”
LeBron James has achieved a lot in his illustrious career. Among them is that he has never fallen behind 0-2 as a higher seed in any conference playoff series. After Game 2, James has maintained an unprecedented 30-0 streak. He finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. James also had the Lakers ready for the gritty battle with the Wolves.
“We knew yesterday at practice,” James said about the Lakers’ physical readiness for Game 2. “We had a tough practice yesterday, and we went at it yesterday. One of the best practices we had all year.”
Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards were the only Timberwolves who scored in double figures. Randle led with 27 points, and Edwards followed closely with 25 points, including a powerful dunk over Jaxson Hayes.
However, Randle and Edwards scored using a lot of isolation play. Edwards had no assists, a stark contrast to his playoff career-high nine assists in Game 1.
“I think we were too stagnant, too slow getting into our actions and what we were looking for,” Randle said after the game. “Also, we got a lot of points off transition last game, and they kind of took that away from us. We got some threes and open looks in transition that we didn’t get tonight – just have to be better in that department; all things that we can control.”
It’s not the end of the world for the Timberwolves, nor is it time to panic. They went to a hostile Los Angeles environment, came away with a 1-1 series tie, and head home for two games.
The Lakers also didn’t finish with a flourish in Game 2. They scored 34 points in the first quarter and won with 94 points. What is this, 1990s scoring?
“They got off to a fast start. How many points did they have in the first quarter? 30 something?” Edwards said, reacting to Minnesota’s defense. “So you would be thinking they were on pace for 120, but we found a way to get our defense back tight. I feel like we should be going into Game 3 smiling.”
Another positive note is that the Timberwolves had a franchise playoff-high 21 made 3-pointers in Game 1, followed by a season-low of only 5 makes from distance and a season-low 85 points in Game 2. They should return to their regular season form of 15.0 3-pointers made per game (fifth in the NBA).
Especially playing in front of their home crowd.
“It’s going to be high. I remember [Timberwolves] have amazing fans, and they’re very loud from the first moment,” Doncic said about heading to Minneapolis for Game 3. “At some point, they’re going to make a run, and we have to stay together. It’s us against the whole arena. It’s going to be very tough.”