Minnesota — With the game hanging in the balance, the Lakers shrank in the final minutes. Tied at 103 with 4:37 left, Los Angeles failed to make another field goal as the Timberwolves closed on a 13-1 run to win Game 3, 116-104, and take a 2-1 series lead on Friday.
The Lakers gave themselves a fighting chance in crunch time but couldn’t overcome 19 turnovers—which the Timberwolves scored 28 points off of—and a sick Luka Dončić battling a stomach bug.
"He hasn't been feeling well for the last 24 hours," head coach JJ Redick said. "He was vomiting all afternoon... he's really under the weather.
Dončić delivered a few signature shots despite battling illness, but it clearly took a toll and affected his play. He finished with 17 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds on 6-for-16 shooting in 39 minutes.
With Dončić visibly sick and playing through it, LeBron James took control and carried most of the scoring load. A 16-point second quarter led to James having 22 points at the half. He was the anchor in L.A.'s fourth-quarter charge to even the score late in the fourth.
James knocked down three straight 3s in that stretch, with the last one being deep from the logo. He finished with 38 points (13-of-21 shooting) in 41 minutes, the highest scoring mark in a game in NBA postseason history by a player past 40.
"He was shooting it from Yucatan."
— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2025
Ant had jokes when talking about LeBron's unreal 38-PT performance in Game 3 👑 pic.twitter.com/ojQcXuaZEM
Redick credited the Timberwolves’ length, size, and ball pressure for forcing turnovers against the Lakers. He added that overdribbling, trying to draw fouls, and driving into traffic were things the team did too often with the ball.
"We generated a lot of shots tonight when we didn't turn the ball over," Redick said.
Minnesota had five players score in double figures, with Jaden McDaniels leading the pack in scoring for the second game of this series. He finished with 30 points, and Anthony Edwards finished just behind him with 29 points, who had multiple buckets down the Lakers' cold stretch that iced the game.
Most of Austin Reaves' production came in the first half, as his two-man game with James allowed him to pour in four 3-pointers at halftime. He finished second on the team with 20 points (seven rebounds, four assists) in 41 minutes.
"The mood's good," Reaves said on the locker room after the loss. "We see the spots where we have to be better to win games, and we're going to have to fix that on Sunday."
The Lakers and Timberwolves continue their first-round series for Game 4 on Sunday (12:30 p.m.) in Minnesota. L.A. will look to avoid a potential 3-1 series deficit heading back to Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday for Game 5.
