LOS ANGELES — The buzz was at an all-time high in anticipation of the Lakers' first home opening playoff game since 2012. But the excitement quickly evaporated after lackluster second and third quarter showings from Los Angeles, dropping the opening game of the playoffs, 117-95, to the Timberwolves on Saturday.
The word physicality was the point of emphasis following the 22-point loss, as Minnesota dominated the Lakers in almost every phase.
Everyone who spoke at the podium after the game, which included JJ Redick, LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, and Jarred Vanderbilt, emphasized Minnesota getting to where they wanted and how they wanted because of their unmatched physicality.
"When you're playing this Minnesota team, they're going to be physical. That's what they bring to the table," said James, who finished with 19 points. "Maybe it took us one playoff game to now get a feel for it. We should be more than prepared for that [physicality] on Tuesday night."
The Lakers came out firing in the first quarter, feeding off the energy of a roaring Crypto.com Arena crowd, tying a franchise playoff record with seven made threes. But the momentum quickly shifted in the second, as the Timberwolves outscored L.A. 38-20 behind eight triples of their own and never looked back. Minnesota poured in 15 threes over the middle quarters.
"Schematics-wise, in the half court, we'll take a look at everything and see what we want to tweak," head coach JJ Redick said. "That's hard to overcome, particularly when a team is shooting like they were shooting tonight."
The Timberwolves finished the night with 21 made three-pointers on a blistering 50% shooting from beyond the arc, compared to the Lakers’ 15 makes on 36.6%. Jaden McDaniels led Minnesota with 25 points, while Naz Reid added 23 off the bench—including six threes. Anthony Edwards chipped in 22 points.
Dončić gave the Lakers a brief jolt with a half-court buzzer-beater to end the third and another three to open the fourth, but the Timberwolves had an answer for every run after. Dončić finished with 37 points in 40 minutes in his playoff debut for the Lakers.
"We got to be way more physical. It's 48 minutes and every possession matters." Dončić said.
Game 2 stays in L.A. on Tuesday (7 p.m.) before the series shifts to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4.