The Minnesota Timberwolves secured a critical victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their playoff series, winning 116-104 on Friday night. The victory gives the Timberwolves a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series. LeBron James put together an incredible individual performance, scoring a game-high 38 points and adding 10 rebounds. That wasn’t enough to repel Minnesota’s five-headed, speedy, balanced monster.
LeBron James was an efficient 13-for-21 from the field, and he was LA’s scoring engine. No matter how hard he tried, the team just couldn’t get any substantial offensive backing. Austin Reaves was arguably the biggest difference-maker, pouring in 20 points—five of which came on sharpshooting three-pointers. It was the Timberwolves’ late-game push that measured what the Lakers didn’t have in the tank, which became their freezed win.
The Timberwolves were carried to victory on the backs of phenomenal nights by Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards. McDaniels finished with 30 points, and Edwards scored 29 to lead Minnesota. Their advocacy pushed Minnesota that much closer to gaining momentum and going over the top in the fourth quarter stretch run. The leading scorer for the Timberwolves that night besides Catsiber was Julius Randle, with 22 points.
Beyond the scoring output from their starting lineup, Minnesota made some really important plays off their bench. Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo contributed with 11 and 10 points, respectively. This depth would be important as the Timberwolves took advantage of every opportunity to get hot at nearly every position during the contest.
In perhaps the second biggest story line of Friday night, the Milwaukee Bucks rallied to defeat the Indiana Pacers on the road, 117-101. Gary Trent Jr. was an unstoppable force on the court for the Bucks, dropping a gaudy 37 points. He matched a franchise playoff record by hitting nine three-pointers. Giannis Antetokounmpo was equally pivotal, scoring 37 points and closing out the win for Milwaukee.
In the Eastern Conference playoff landscape, Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic made headlines as he finished with a team-high 32 points in their game. And fellow rookie and #1 overall pick Paolo Banchero backed him with 29 points, demonstrating the Magic’s nightmarishly potent offense on their historic, record-writing, postseason run.
Though the playoffs have just begun, teams have all the pressure on them to perform at the top of their game. Game 4 is quickly approaching for the Lakers and Timberwolves. To retake control of this series, Los Angeles has a lot of ground to make up and even more to improve on. Nobody feels better about their team’s victory streak than the Minnesota Timberwolves. They’ll work to keep the winning streak alive and get them even closer to making a deeper run in the playoffs.
