LOS ANGELES - Rudy Gobert scored a career-high in the playoffs with 27 points and 24 rebounds, Julius Randle scored 23 points in the NBA playoffs, and Minnesota's Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 103-96 in Game 5 of the first-round series Wednesday night.

Anthony Edwards scored 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Sixth Seed Wolves, who won three games in a row to eliminate LeBron James and Luka Doncic, taking them from their first playoffs.

After winning the playoffs in the back-to-back season for the first time in franchise history, Minnesota will next face the Houston Series champion. The Rockets avoided Wednesday's elimination, with the Warriors leading 3-2 on Game 6.

Don Sic scored 28 points and nine assists, while James contributed 22 points for the Lakers, losing 22 points in his second straight playoff despite re-equipped Don Sic in the mid-season earthquake trade.

Rui Hachimura scored 23 points for the Lakers, who have been promoted once in the first round of five seasons since the 2020 Florida bubble championship.

Gobert ran Amok in paint, and the Lakers deliberately played without a center, despite 7-of-47 in a three-point attempt, Minnesota won Game 5, which included 17 consecutive defeats between the second quarter, while Mike Conley's Dagger 3 played 1:22.

After Los Angeles split the first two games, the Wolves seized control of the series in a back-to-back narrow family victory with superior racing execution.

Gobert then stepped up his efforts, and when the Lakers deployed a small ball roster for Game 5, the French center scored more than he scored in the first four games of the series.

Minnesota guaranteed a narrow lead throughout the game, with the Lakers shooting five straight shots while 3½ minutes between two points.

After playing with five players throughout the second half of Game 4, the Lakers changed their starting lineup for Game 5, maintaining the tenacious wing Dorian Finney-Smith replaced center Jaxson Hayes.

Lakers coach JJ Redick defended his decision to evade alternatives this week, and even responded when reporters asked him about his decision-making process before Game 5.

Minnesota jumped to 14 points in the first quarter with a 14-point lead, but the Lakers stomped on their knees awkwardly as Doncic stepped on their knees as Donte Divincenzo fouled and landed in the locker room one minute before halftime. Doncic returned to court before the third quarter, wearing a large lower back bracket, and he threw away and continued the game.

The Wolf's terrible shooting kept it close, and the Lakers took the first lead in the leadership rally in the end of the third inning.

James hit the Lakers' bench in the fourth quarter after falling down on his ankle, but then came back.