Tied in the final five minutes, Minnesota closed Game 3 on a 13-1 run to beat the Lakers 116-104 at Target Center on Friday to take a 2-1 series lead.
Here are five takeaways from the Timberwolves’ victory:
Ant shines late
Anthony Edwards played a large role in derailing Minnesota’s late-game offense in recent years with slow-moving isolation that usually resulted in a number of tough shots that didn’t fall.
That was not the player he was Friday. Edwards was decisive, often attacking the teeth of the Lakers’ defense. One attack resulted in a bucket at the rim. Another ended with a kickout to an open Naz Reid, who splashed a triple.
It was all good, and exactly what Minnesota needed on Friday, and hopes it will get more of as the 23-year-old’s career progresses.
Defense great, too
Not to be overlooked in Minnesota’s game-closing effort was its stellar defensive showing. The Lakers missed five straight shots after tying the game at 103-103 before Los Angeles coach J.J. Redick waved the white flag and removed the starters from the game in the final minute.
Minnesota didn’t allow Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves nor LeBron James to get an ounce of breathing room when the Lakers needed a bucket. As a result, the ball consistently wound up in the hands of Rui Hachimura. He failed to deliver, missing multiple triple tries and getting stuffed on a rim attack.
“Attention to detail, locking in on the gameplan and understanding who they have on the floor and what we want to do and what we want to take away and what they want to get to,” Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo said. “There’s still stuff to clean up, but it’s always great to try to clean it up with a win.”
Luka’s illness
Lakers superstar Luka Doncic battled a stomach flu Friday, with Redick noting the wing was vomiting throughout the day. Doncic did ultimately give it a go. While he had a few nice moments for the Lakers, he was nowhere near his usual self.
Doncic tallied 17 points on 6 for 16 shooting to go with eight assists and seven rebounds in 40 minutes. Doncic looked like a shell of himself. He didn’t start the second half, only to emerge from the locker room and re-enter the contest a couple minutes later.
It’s a short turnaround from Friday’s late affair to Sunday’s Game 4 matinee. That always figured to be a challenge for the 40-year-old LeBron James. But Doncic’s stomach virus brings a new wrinkle into the fold. How much can he recoup before taking the floor in a game it feels as though the Lakers have to have?
McDaniels delivers again
Jaden McDaniels has dominated two games in this series, scoring 25 points in Game 1 before pouring in 30 points on Friday. He also had five rebounds and two steals in the win, while defending Doncic.
“Just a monster. I think it was a career high for him. It couldn’t come at a better time,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “(The production came) in the flow of everything, was super aggressive. We found him. I thought he and Julius (Randle) did an excellent job of just setting the tone today and just being aggressive, with a lot of force and then just battling in their matchup. Of course they had the two tough matchups out there, just fighting it, fighting it, fighting it.”
When McDaniels plays like that, the Wolves are tough to beat.
Relentless activity
Minnesota trailed by four at the break, but rallied in the third quarter thanks to a series of hustle plays that appeared in the forms of steals and offensive rebounds. Minnesota had three offensive rebounds in the frame to go with four steals.
All of them felt like massive momentum shifters that helped position the Wolves to win the game late.
“That’s what wins games,” DiVincenzo said, “and that’s what won it for us tonight.”
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