The Los Angeles Lakers slumped to a 117-95 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening game of their NBA Western Conference first-round play-off on Saturday.
Jaden McDaniels top scored with 25 points for the sixth-seeded Timberwolves, who were the only away team to win in the opening matches of the best-of-seven post-season series.
Naz Reid scored 23 points off the bench while Anthony Edwards added 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for Minnesota, who led by 27 points at one stage.
Lakers star LeBron James, who is chasing a fifth title in his 22nd NBA season, failed to score in the opening quarter for the third seeds but went on to hit 19 points.
Luka Doncic, in his first post-season game with the Lakers after arriving from the Dallas Mavericks in February’s high-profile trade, top-scored on 37.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said his team was “mentally ready” but failed to match Minnesota’s physicality.
“I thought our spirit was right,” he said. “I thought even when they made runs our huddles were great, the communication was great.
“But when they started playing with a lot of thrust and physicality, we just didn’t respond immediately to that.”
In the other Western Conference first-round game, reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 29 points and added nine rebounds, 12 assists and three steals as the Denver Nuggets edged past the Los Angeles Clippers 112-110 in overtime.
The Nuggets trailed by 15 points early on but Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Russell Westbrook helped them back into contention.
Elsewhere, the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers both went ahead in their Eastern Conference match-ups.
The Knicks scored 21 unanswered points in the final quarter to pull away for a 123-112 win over the Detroit Pistons, who are in the play-offs for the first time since 2019 and have not won a play-off game since 2008.
Jalen Brunson scored 23 of his 34 points in the second half while Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby had 23 points apiece for the Knicks, who rallied after trailing by eight going into the final period.
Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo netted 36 points but it was not enough as his Milwaukee Bucks lost out 117-98 to the Pacers.
BBC Sport
