Lakers cut through the noise to level Timberwolves playoff series

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LOS ANGELES — The thing about howling is that it’s never quiet.

As if it wasn’t infuriating enough for the Los Angeles Lakers that this cocksure Minnesota Timberwolves crew looked like the alpha males in Game 1 of their first-round series Saturday night, when Jaden McDaniels tortured them and Anthony Edwards taunted them en route to a 22-point loss. But they had to endure all that barking that came afterward, too. 

In the hallway near their home locker room at Crypto.com Arena, no less. There was a message of supreme confidence being shared by Timberwolves players on that walkway that leads to the visiting team’s bus, with Lakers staffers taking in all the arrogant chatter about how their counterparts were too old, and too inferior, to pose a real threat in this series.

On the one hand, it wasn’t all that different from the trash talk that was unfolding during the game. It’s the playoffs, after all. On the other hand, it was audacious enough that the Lakers’ power brokers made it their mission to rectify the matter when Game 2 arrived on Tuesday night.

There’s no such thing as too much motivational material when it comes to the second season, though. So with Luka Dončić (31 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists) returning to his playmaking ways, LeBron James (21 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists) showing much more proficiency at both ends and first-year coach J.J. Redick providing the intensity that seemed to lift them all, they evened the series with a 94-85 win that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score.

Nothing like that playoff win feeling 🎊 pic.twitter.com/eJbLK1VIgU

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 23, 2025

“I think it just goes back to the other night when we basically got punked,” said Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who had 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. “Call a spade a spade. They came in here, Game 1, and punked us. You could tell from the energy in the locker room after the game that nobody was worried about what we have. We just had to go out there and compete every single possession. (We) had a pretty good practice yesterday. And that kind of just ensured kind of where the headspace was.”

To watch the Lakers manage their emotions in this series, while responding to those of the Timberwolves, is to realize that this group is still in its infancy.

The 26-year-old Dončić is as fiery as anyone in the association, and it only complicates his playoff process that he’s less than three months into this Lakers tenure after his stunning trade from Dallas. The 40-year-old James is the wisest and most collected of the bunch, but his early-March groin injury that kept him out for seven games has required a level of patience at this point that belies the urgency of the moment. The role players, Reaves chief among them, continue to figure out how to complement this dynamic duo that comes with inevitable complications. And then there’s Redick, who had a wonderful debut season at the helm but is well aware that a first-round bow-out as the No. 3 seed would qualify as a sour ending.

Before Game 1, when it’s safe to assume that he was sleep deprived from postseason preparation, the 40-year-old was very serious as he addressed the assembled media. His right leg bounced underneath the table as he spoke. His answers were brief. Anyone who covered Redick as a player, when his friendly personality was always replaced by the maniacal side whenever tipoff neared, knows that this is how he’s wired. His mood only worsened during postgame media availability, with the Lakers’ one-sided loss causing so much angst.

Yet by the time Redick met with reporters before Game 2, his mood had markedly improved. And considering the positive reviews from practice, it made perfect sense. The Lakers, it seemed, had their competitive spirit in a way that convinced them it would translate to the series.

“We knew yesterday at practice (that they would respond in Game 2),” James said. “We had a tough practice yesterday, and we went at it yesterday. (It was) one of the best practices we’ve had all year. We kind of knew coming out of that what type of disposition we had to play with. We watched film before practice, (and) it wasn’t good. Game 1 was not good at all. We’re all competitors, so that’s what it took.”

They needed that and a little more, as it turned out. With 7:40 left in the third quarter and the Lakers’ lead that was once 22 points down to 11, Dončić waited to receive the ball from the official for a sideline inbounds pass when Redick went ballistic. Dorian Finney-Smith was in the far corner, with James opposite him and Reaves in between. Rui Hachimura was near the top of the key. And Redick, who surveyed the scene before calling timeout, wasn’t happy about what he saw.

“Timeout!” he yelled into the microphones that could be heard on the ESPN telecast. “What the f––– is going on? Jesus f–––––– Christ.

“TIMEOUT! WHAT THE FU** IS GOING ON?! JESUS FU**ING CHRIST! WHAT THE FU** ARE YOU GUYS DOING? CMON!”

JJ Redick called a timeout & immediately chewed out his Los Angeles Lakers team after allowing a quick 7-0 run in the 3rd quarter of Game 2, as Minnesota creeped into the game… pic.twitter.com/ithCuAAf8K

— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) April 23, 2025

Redick downplayed the significance of the moment when asked about it afterward but acknowledged that there was an inspirational component to his style.

“(That’s) not frustration, but just coaching,” he said. “As a coach, you can see it coming, and the other side of that is on the horizon and is building, and (he) just wanted to make sure everybody was on the same page.

“I’ve done that in a game a handful of times (this season), in six preseason games, 82 regular-season (games)… (Out of) 90 games, I’ve done it a handful of times. It’s not something that I’d want to do. It’s something I’m more than comfortable doing. But I think tonight it was just more about getting that urgency button switched back on.”

The Lakers went on a 9-0 run from there, with Dončić hitting a jumper, Finney-Smith burying a three, James hitting a putback layup and Dončić hitting two free throws after he was fouled by McDaniels while going for an offensive rebound.

“I thought we responded well from the timeout,” James said. “We know J.J. is going to spaz out from time to time. That’s J.J. At this point for us, obviously we need to listen to the message and not how he’s delivering it. For me, my high school coach my freshman year (at St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron, Ohio) was kinda the same way. He would spaz out on us. You have to be able to understand it’s not about how he’s saying it, (but) it’s about what he’s saying. I thought we responded after that.”

If only for a night, these Lakers had the answers to all that Timberwolves bravado. Edwards went from having one of the most impressive playmaking performances of his career in Game 1 (nine assists, one turnover) to not logging a single assist (he had 25 points and six rebounds). James and Dončić, who combined for just four assists and seven turnovers in the series opener, had 16 assists and six turnovers in all in Game 2.

That script-flip had everything to do with the Lakers’ turnaround. And the Dončić performance, in particular, was enough to awaken the bad memories inside the Timberwolves players who saw him eviscerate them in the West finals while with Dallas a year ago. Game 3, with all the Timberwolves’ decibel levels that will inevitably come with it, is in Target Center on Friday night.

“They have a great team, so at some point they’re gonna make a run,” Dončić said. “It’s just the matter of how we respond. And we responded by being who we are. And I think, like I said, we responded very well. I mean, to win a game scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter, it’s not easy. It was from defense and then going off from there.

“Me and Bron, (we’re) the leaders of the team, (and) we gotta keep the team together. Like I said, going into Minnesota is gonna be a war. The fans are gonna be cheering like crazy. So no matter (what), we can’t panic. We gotta stay together.”

(Photo of Luka Dončić and LeBron James: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)

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