The Minnesota Timberwolves took Game 5 in Los Angeles, winning their series with the Lakers, 4-1. Rudy Gobert had an absolutely monster night, silencing his critics, and sending Minnesota to the second round.
Let’s be honest: if you’ve been a Timberwolves fan for more than a couple seasons, you walked into Game 5 at Crypto.com Arena carrying some serious baggage. We’re not just talking about the standard Minnesota sports trauma, we’re talking full-on U-Haul trailer of heartbreak. The kind with a spare tire labeled 2003 and a broken axle marked 2004.
Twenty-two years ago, Kevin Garnett and a scrappy band of Wolves tried to slay the Lakers dragon. We all remember that series. The Shaq-and-Kobe Lakers came in as a five-seed, looking beatable on paper. The Wolves even grabbed a 2-1 lead, fueled by Troy Hudson’s temporary possession by the spirit of Ray Allen. But reality hit fast: the Lakers were just deeper, sharper, and playing chess while Minnesota was stuck with a Connect Four board. That series ended in heartbreak. A year later, KG finally got the MVP, finally got a real supporting cast, finally got past the first round. And who was waiting in the Conference Finals? Those same Lakers, this time with Karl Malone and Gary Payton attached like leeches. That series ended in six, and so did the dream.
The Timberwolves didn’t win another playoff series until last year. And guess who helped end that run? Luka Doncic, who carved up the Wolves defense in the Western Conference Finals like a sous-chef going to town on an onion. The same Luka who was wearing purple and gold this time around, teaming up with LeBron James, the final boss of every playoff bracket. Minnesota fans have seen this movie before. And usually it ends with someone throwing their remote, a missed corner three, and a haunting postgame quote about how “we just have to want it more.”
But this team? This version of the Timberwolves? They’re different. They walked into Game 5 with one mission: bury the past. Exorcise the ghosts of Shaq, Kobe, Malone, Payton, Fisher, and that whole Hollywood Death Star. Stop Luka from turning another playoff run into a YouTube highlight reel. Force LeBron into shaking hands instead of lifting trophies.
And they did exactly that…
First Quarter:
Game 5 started with the Timberwolves punching first—and hard. Julius Randle opened the scoring by attacking the rim, and Rudy Gobert followed with a pair of close-range finishes. The Wolves were clearly looking to make an early statement, feeding Rudy in the post and playing with purpose. Unfortunately, so were the refs. Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels both picked up quick fouls, with McDaniels getting tagged for his second less than four minutes in. Still, Minnesota kept the pressure on. Randle continued attacking, and when Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit back-to-back threes, the Wolves led 21–9 midway through the first.
L.A. looked flat. Their offense lacked flow, and outside of some energy from Rui Hachimura, the Lakers couldn’t get much going. The Wolves, meanwhile, were relentless. Gobert and Naz Reid kept working the paint, and when the quarter ended, Minnesota held a 31–22 lead. Gobert led all scorers with 8 points with Anthony Edwards only notching two.
Second Quarter:
The second quarter opened with a thunderous dunk by LeBron James, but things quickly spiraled into a whistle-fest. Julius Randle picked up two quick fouls—one offensive, one defensive—and Jaden McDaniels was soon whistled for his third, sending LeBron to the line for an and-one. The Wolves’ 12-point cushion dwindled to two in just a few minutes.
But then Ant-Man showed up. Edwards started attacking, finishing back-to-back drives at the rim. He missed the and-one free throw on one trip, but it lead to Mike Conley burying a corner three off the rebound, turning a potential collapse into a five-point swing. Minnesota held strong, with DiVincenzo and Alexander-Walker knocking down key shots. With just over three minutes left in the half, Edwards found Gobert for another lob, and then added two free throws to stretch the lead back to double digits, 53–43.
After LeBron threw down another dunk, DiVincenzo answered by feeding Gobert for an easy flush. Edwards then drew the defense and dished to a cutting Alexander-Walker, who finished to close the half. Minnesota led 59–49 at the break. The Lakers had pushed, but the Wolves, led by a more assertive Edwards and a dominant Gobert, had pushed back harder.
By halftime, Gobert (15 points, 8 rebounds) and Edwards (10 points, 5 assists) had outscored LeBron and Luka Dončić (22 combined). The game plan was working: feed Rudy, survive the whistles, and wait for Ant to erupt.
Third Quarter:
The third quarter opened with LeBron scoring back-to-back, cutting into Minnesota’s lead. The Wolves responded with free throws from McDaniels and Gobert, but Luka stayed aggressive, hitting a three to pull L.A. back within striking distance. The two sides traded buckets until the 7:22 mark, when Doncic appeared to foul Randle on a three-point attempt. Somehow, JJ Redick challenged—and won. Even though there was clear contact, the officials deemed it “marginal.” Of course they did.
Still, Edwards answered with a drive to push the lead back to seven. The Lakers kept coming. A Hachimura three off a second-chance opportunity brought it to four, but Gobert answered with another dunk. Doncic drew a foul on Reid and hit both free throws to bring it to 73–70. Randle answered. Luka hit a three. Randle answered again. The Wolves were trading buckets with the Lakers, but L.A. was hitting their from beyond the arc, dwindling Minnesota’s lead.
Then, for the first time all night, the Lakers took the lead—Dorian Finney-Smith hit a corner three with 2:30 left in the third to make it 78–77. Edwards missed another layup, and a phantom foul on DiVincenzo gave Luka more free throws. He hit one. 79–77, Lakers.
Gobert slammed home another lob from Alexander-Walker to tie it at 79. Edwards missed again, but Rudy cleaned it up with his 24th point of the night to give the Wolves an 81–80 edge heading into the fourth. It was a rough quarter—Minnesota got outscored, let up second-chance points, and fell victim to some questionable officiating. The game would come down to the final 12 minutes.
Fourth Quarter:
The fourth quarter was about execution and grit. Randle and LeBron traded buckets early, and a questionable coach’s challenge by Chris Finch burned Minnesota’s ability to review down the stretch. With 8:39 remaining, Edwards re-entered. It seemed like it was time for him to put on the cape.
Reaves hit a three to put the Lakers up 85–84. Randle answered at the line. Edwards missed a three, but Gobert—again—cleaned it up. His free throw made it 87–85, and crucially, it put the Lakers in the penalty with 7:22 remaining. The Wolves would be in the bonus the rest of the way.
McDaniels picked up his fifth foul on the next possession, sending Luka to the line. He hit one, cutting Minnesota’s lead to a single point. Luka then drilled a jumper with McDaniels forced to play conservatively, giving the Lakers an 88–87 lead.
But the Wolves kept answering. McDaniels hit two free throws to make it 89–88. Rudy slammed home another putback—his 27th point. 91–88, Wolves. Then came a critical moment: McDaniels picked up his sixth foul—on a loose-ball call after an Edwards rebound—ending his night.
And from there, the Wolves slowly choked the Lakers out.
Randle scored in the paint to make it 93–88 with 3:27 left. A LeBron corner three cut it to two, but Randle responded again with a bucket of his own. Then, a fast break layup by Edwards off a Luka miss made it 97–91 with two minutes left.
Hachimura hit a three to make it 97–94 with 1:40 remaining. But then came the dagger—Edwards drew the defense and found Mike Conley in the corner. Bang. 100–94.
And from there, the free-throw game played out. With Julius Randle dribbling out the clock on the Lakers logo, the Wolves closed the book on 22 years of playoff heartbreak.
What makes this Wolves team so fascinating is that they win games in different ways. Game 5 wasn’t some flamethrower night from beyond the arc. It wasn’t Ant-Man going full Jordan. The Wolves were ice cold from deep, and Anthony Edwards didn’t even hit a three. And they still found a way.
Rudy Gobert put on his hard hat and absolutely took over. For four games, he’d been relatively quiet. But in Game 5? He was King Kong on the glass. Twenty-seven points. Twenty-four rebounds. Many of those were offensive boards that led directly to putbacks. This wasn’t just Rudy’s redemption game. This was the receipt for every punchline, every “he can’t step up in the playoffs” comment, every stat nerd saying he can’t hang in a switch-heavy postseason. Rudy Gobert was the Timberwolves’ heartbeat.
And then there was Julius Randle. He caught so much heat when he arrived in the KAT trade. People said he’d clog the offense, wouldn’t fit next to Gobert, couldn’t play in the flow. Game 5 was a masterclass in shutting people up. He scored when the Wolves needed to stop the bleeding. He hit free throws in the clutch. He attacked the paint like it owed him money. Every time the Lakers started to make a push, Randle hit a shot to punch back.
Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards had what you’d call a “grown man game.” No threes? No problem. He still attacked. He still drew doubles. He still pulled defenders away so guys like Mike Conley, DiVincenzo, and NAW could feast on open looks or cuts to the rim. That last-minute drive-and-kick to Conley for the dagger three? That’s what superstars do. That’s a “my gravity shifts the universe” moment. Edwards didn’t need 40 points to be the alpha. He just needed to keep applying pressure, make the right reads, and get his guys home.
This game had everything. Luka whining to the refs. LeBron hitting big-time threes. Jaden McDaniels fouling out in a blaze of defensive fury. And Chris Finch, who’s “hot seat” is as frozen as Lake Minnetonka in January, trusted his bench, managed his rotations, and didn’t flinch when the game got tight. After all, it’s hard to flinch when you know you’re holding the better team.
When the final buzzer sounded and Randle dribbled out the clock, it wasn’t just the end of a game. It was the end of a two-decade war. The Timberwolves didn’t just beat the Lakers. They ended them. LeBron and Luka walked off into the tunnel, empty-handed. The ghosts of 2003 and 2004 vanished into the rafters. And Minnesota? They get to keep dreaming. Second round, here we come.
Wolves in five. Who says history can’t change?
(And if Rudy wants to hang that box score on his wall, I’ll chip in for the frame.)