The Los Angeles Lakers season is over, provided by a Minnesota Timberwolves team that has left their first round for the most part.
Timberwolves finished the game in five games Wednesday by defeating the Lakers 103-96, pushing Rudy Gobert's best playoff game. The four-time defensive player of the year scored a playoff career-high 27 points on 12 goals in 15 goals and 24 rebounds.
The Lakers showed a fight in a game that entered after running out of the top five players in Game 4. They dropped double digits in the first half with multiple points, but the third quarter rally gave them the first lead in the game. It was already away from there until the last game in the fourth quarter was cut.
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Minnesota won the game on the cold night of three-pointers, but the team from Deep made 7-for-7 of 47. Gobert is productive in it and can make up for that.
Timberwolves will face the Golden State Warriors-Houston Rockets Series winner in the Western Conference semifinals. The Warriors are currently leading 3-2 but missed the opportunity to end the series on the road earlier Wednesday.
There is no denying that the Timberwolves Center has entered the playoffs or playoff reputation. Gobert was never an offensive Dynamo, and was much higher in the regular season than the playoffs. This extends to the series, with Gobert scoring just 14 points in four games and hitting 4 points in 13.
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Then, the Lakers handed him a pretty ideal situation. Head coach JJ Redick said before the game that he would not play starting center Jaxson Hayes in Game 5, and backup center Alex Len did not participate. No player in the Lakers' starting lineup is above 6-foot-8.
There is a big advantage in every player in front of him, and the 7-foot-1 Gobert suddenly became the first player of choice for Minnesota offense.
While one of the Timberwolves' All-Stars is thriving, the other is struggling.
After 43 points in Game 4, Anthony Edwards struggled hard throughout the game. Although he also scored 11 rebounds, eight assists and three steals, he scored 12 points with 5-point shooting percentage.
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On the Lakers side, it wasn't an easy night for Austin Reeves, scoring 12 points in 14 shots.
After the painful end of the first half, Dončić played the second half to some extent.
The Lakers star made a harsh foul on Donte Divincenzo and immediately began to hinder his support. The show was censored with a blatant but considered a general foul that left Tang Qin with two free throws before exiting the locker room with one minute left in the second quarter.
Fortunately for the Lakers, Dončić returned there early in the third quarter, but can still be seen grabbing his back at times.
The formerly forgotten Dončić trade member was the Dallas Mavericks' shooting big man Maxi Kleber, who was out with a broken foot during the trade. Kleber returned to the Lakers' sideline for the rest of the season until Wednesday.
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Kleber announced that he would go public before the game, and he entered the game in the first quarter, with his team dropping double digits in the knockout round. He finished the game with two points in five minutes.
The Lakers played a 33-year-old long-time bench player in Hayes and Ren's center tandem game, showing how many goals the team was pushed on the back foot of the series, while Gobert was pushed down in Game 5.
Another episode shows that the Lakers’ headwind is the end of Reddick’s pre-match press conference.
After revealing that Kleber was available, confirming that he would not play Hayes and declined to disclose the starting lineup, Redick was asked whether he would discuss alternative roster with his assistant coach after playing the same five players in the second half of Game 4. The Lakers coach is not satisfied with the problem, and he always replaces his assistant with his assistant in the auxiliary assistant.