Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer
After the Minnesota Timberwolves stunned the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, leading by as much as 27 points on Los Angeles’ home court, Anthony Edwards was asked if he had a message for all of the national media that picked the Lakers to win.
“No message, man,” Edwards said, “They still got the Lakers. The Lakers are supposed to win. That’s just how it’s supposed to go. We’re not supposed to be here. So, we’re just going tocompete.”
Edwards played it cool, but the Timberwolves delivered an emphatic message in their 117-95 win on Saturday: Don’t sleep on us.
Yes, the Lakers are the third seed and have two of the biggest superstars in the league in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. But the Timberwolves made it to the Western Conference Finals last season, and, even though they’ve had some bumps this season, they’re deep, physical and hungry.
For the Lakers, things got out of hand quickly. They were in control in the first quarter, withDoncic scoring 16 points to give the Lakers a 28-21 lead, despite James and Austin Reaves going a combined 0-for-5 over that period. It seemed as though LA was surely going to clobber the Timberwolves as soon as the floodgates opened for its other two superstars.
The only problem was Jamesand Reaves remained cold, leaving Doncic on an island against a Timberwolves team that was about to catch fire. In the second quarter, the Timberwolves outscored the Lakers, 38-20. The barrage continued in the third quarter, with the Timberwolves storming out of halftime with an 11-0 run.
The Lakers didn’t just lose. They were humiliated. At times, it looked as though they weren’t even trying,with them gesticulating their frustration instead of running back on defense.
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