The Los Angeles Lakers need to win Game 5 to expand the NBA playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Unfortunately, they are just overtaken by their competitors.

The big men in Minnesota spent a field game against Los Angeles, with Rudy Gobert scoring 27 points and 24 rebounds leading the team to a 103-96 victory. The French big man also shot 12 of 15 shots from the field, further highlighting that the Lakers could not stop him.

Meanwhile, Julius Randle scored 23 points, five rebounds and four assists in eight goals in 16.

As far as the Lakers are concerned, the Lakers are struggling on both sides of the court. Not only did they not be able to stop the Timberwolves, but their offense was also impossible to achieve.

Luka Doncic scored 28 points, but he scored 18 innings of brutal 7 from the field. Austin Reaves has only 12 out of 14 shots.

After the loss, the series ended 4-1 and eliminated LeBron James and the company, NBA legend Magic Johnson did not back down when pointing out various reasons why the Lakers lost.

According to Los Angeles Icons, poor defense, their small lineup and painful consequences of allowing the Timberwolves to dominate in paint.

"The reason why the Lakers lost is because they're bad at defense, too small, and the Timberwolves dominate the paint," Johnson shared.

Congratulations to my good friend Alex Rodriguez, owner of Timberwolves, Minnesota, superstar Anthony Edwards and the entire Minnesota Timberwolves team for defeating my Lakers and moving forward to the next round. The reason why the Lakers lost is because they performed poorly on defense, they...

- Earvin Magic Johnson (@magicjohnson) May 1, 2025

Their lack of frontcourt presence has been a major topic since the Lakers swapped Anthony Davis (and more) to Doncic.

Although they were able to show in the regular season that they could win in the middle, it certainly wasn't the case in the playoffs, and the Timberwolves exploited that weakness.

Sure enough, a defensive anchor that protects paint will solve the problem Johnson pointed out.

It remains to be seen whether the Lakers can meet their biggest needs in the offseason, but they will certainly be watching them after their recent failures. In a lineup featuring Doncic and James, expect them to be able to compete in the next campaign.

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