NBA

Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers

· West 1st Round - Game 2
49-33, 24-17 Away
Final
85 - 94

50-32, 31-10 Home

Luka scores 31, and the Lakers muscle past the Timberwolves 94-85 to even 1st-round series

Doncic dishes to LeBron for a Lakers 3

The Lakers said they collectively got smacked in the mouth by the blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first-round series opener. Game 2 was all about their response — and LeBron James loved his team's tenacity.

Luka Doncic had 31 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, and the Lakers fought back to even their series with Minnesota with a 94-85 victory Tuesday night.

“We looked at what we didn’t do so well, which is a lot of things in Game 1,” said James, who scored 21 points and made a key steal in the fourth quarter. “We took it to heart, held each other accountable and had a much better result.”

Game 3 is Friday night in Minneapolis.

Austin Reaves added 16 for the third-seeded Lakers, who jumped out to an early 22-point lead and hung on through a physical matchup with sixth-seeded Minnesota.

Los Angeles scored only 60 points in the final three quarters, but the Wolves never got closer than nine points. Coach JJ Redick was proud of his players' response — even if he had to unload on them in the fourth quarter during a profanity-laden timeout to maintain their focus down the stretch.

“I think tonight was just more about getting that urgency button switched back on,” Redick said.

Julius Randle scored 27 points and Anthony Edwards had 25 for the Timberwolves, who lost most of their offensive fluidity from Game 1. Edwards said the Lakers' defensive adjustments made it “kind of hard” on him.

“The way that they’re guarding us, when I catch the ball, they kind of go zone, and when I try to attack a gap, it’s like three people,” Edwards said. “I've just got to make my decisions a little quicker, and we’ll be all right.”

James added 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers, who never lost control of a chippy, choppy game with 46 personal fouls and multiple video reviews. James and Hachimura both took hard shots to the face, and Hachimura donned a second mask after halftime.

The Wolves hit 21 3-pointers while blowing out the Lakers 117-95 in Game 1. Los Angeles went up by 19 in the first quarter of Game 2 while Doncic exploited isolations on Rudy Gobert.

“We knew they would come with high intensity, with energy,” Randle said. “We knew it was going to be physical. ... We were stagnant, missed open looks, missed layups. They were just in a rhythm.”

Regular Season Series

Series tied 2-2

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 85 - 94
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 85 - 94
4th 0.0 Timberwolves offensive team rebound 85 - 94
4th 1.2 Anthony Edwards misses 30-foot three point pullup jump shot 85 - 94
4th 17.0 Lakers delay of game violation 85 - 94

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/min.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMIN https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/lal.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originLAL
30-79 FG 34-75
38 Field Goal % 45
5-25 3PT 6-29
20 Three Point % 21
20-25 FT 20-20
80 Free Throw % 100
34 Rebounds 41
9 Offensive Rebounds 9
25 Defensive Rebounds 32
14 Assists 23
6 Steals 4
2 Blocks 6
11 Turnovers 12
2 Team Turnovers 2
13 Total Turnovers 14
1 Technical Fouls 0
1 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
15 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 13
6 Fast Break Points 13
46 Points in Paint 46
22 Fouls 24
2 Largest Lead 22
Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Dalton Knecht, F Day-To-Day Feb 9
Adou Thiero, F Out Feb 9
Luka Doncic, G Out Feb 8
Minnesota Timberwolves Minnesota Timberwolves Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Terrence Shannon Jr., G Out Feb 9

Game Information

crypto.com Arena

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 18,997 · Capacity:

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Oklahoma City 40 13 .755 - L2
Denver 34 19 .642 6 W1
Minnesota 32 22 .593 8.5 L2
Portland 25 28 .472 15 W2
Utah 16 37 .302 24 L2

2025-26 Pacific Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
LA Lakers 32 19 .627 - W3
Phoenix 31 22 .585 2 L2
Golden State 28 25 .528 5 L1
LA Clippers 25 27 .481 7.5 W2
Sacramento 12 42 .222 21.5 L12
Full Standings

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