The Los Angeles Lakers are now just one game away from playoff elimination after the Minnesota Timberwolves fought back from a 12-point deficit at the end of the third quarter to take a 116-113 victory at home in Game 4.
Minnesota’s comeback was powered by a superstar performance from Anthony Edwards, who scored 16 of his game-high 43 points in the fourth quarter and was able to physically and mentally outperform the tandem of LeBron James and Luka Dončić.
Edwards was everywhere on Sunday night and doing it all; the guard hit five three-pointers, got to the free-throw line with regularity, dished out assists and defended, against James in particular, with immense physicality.
The 23-year-old, who took down the then defending champion Denver Nuggets and MVP Nikola Jokić in the postseason last year, finished the night with 43 points, nine rebounds, six assists and a block as the Timberwolves now take a 3-1 series lead back to Los Angeles.
Julius Randle was Edwards’ main source of support and finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Lakers head coach JJ Reddick opted to play the same five players – James, Dončić, Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith and Rui Hachimura – for the entire second half, the first time a team has only used five players in a half of a playoff game since the play-by-play era began in 1996-97, per statistician Keerthika Uthayakumar.
Edwards said he made sure to take advantage of it.
“I felt like they were gassed going down the stretch,” the Timberwolves star said, per ESPN. “So just trying to keep my foot on the pedal and keep going.”
Reddick said it was “not a planned thing” to roll with the same five players for the whole second half.
“I asked them at the beginning of the fourth quarter, told them we had two extra timeouts, if you need a sub let us know,” Reddick said. “Those guys gave a lot.”
Dončić said after the game that “fatigue shouldn’t play any role” in the defeat, but the Slovenian scored just seven points in the fourth quarter, while James was scoreless on 0-of-2 shooting in the final 12 minutes.
The Lakers felt aggrieved at a couple of decisions down the stretch, with Dončić forced to call a timeout after falling to the ground under defensive pressure from Jaden McDaniels. Dončić and Reddick said they thought he was tripped.
To make matters worse, James fluffed an inbounds pass to Dončić to turn the ball over with just 33 seconds remaining.
Then, with just 10 seconds remaining, a successful coach’s challenge from Chris Finch led to the officials overturning an out-of-bounds call on Edwards to a foul on James and free throws for Edwards.
Dončić finished with a team-high 38 points for the Lakers, while James had 27 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and three blocks. Rui Hachimura added 23 points.
Game 5 is at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ postseason woes continued as the team suffered a chastening 129-103 home loss to the Indiana Pacers and lost Damian Lillard to injury in the process.
Lillard went down with nobody around him midway through the first quarter as he attempted to reach a loose ball and immediately held his Achilles area.
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said the situation is “not very promising.”
The Pacers now lead the series 3-1 as the teams head back to Indianapolis and have the chance to eliminate the Bucks for the second straight season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, 15 rebounds and six assists for the Bucks, and his only meaningful support came off the bench with 23 points from Kevin Porter Jr. and 14 from Bobby Portis.
“I’ve seen injuries deflate teams, but tonight, that one hurt,” Rivers said, per the Associated Press. “I thought our guys tried, but it was tough.
“My job over the next 48 hours or whatever we have is to get us upright again, try to win one game in Indiana and get it back here.”
Compared to another one-man display from Antetokounmpo, the Pacers were able to rely on double-figure scoring from eight of their players.
Miles Turner finished with a team-high 23 points and Andrew Nembhard had 20.–CNN
