The Los Angeles Lakers season is over, graceful of a team from Minnesota Timberwolves who had them on the back for a large part of their first round series.
The Timberwolves beat the Lakers, 103-96 on Wednesday to finish the series in five games, propelled by the best eliminatory match of the career of Rudy Gobert. The quadruple defensive player of the year posted a career summit in 27 points on 12 shots out of 15 and 24 rebounds.
Advertisement
“He was the dragon tonight,” said Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves goalkeeper.
Lakers showed a certain fight in a game in which they entered afterwards Execute their five best shred players in match 4. They were down two-digit several points in the first half, but a rally in the third quarter gave them their first advance of the match. He was close to there until the Timberwolves withdrew with a last round in the fourth quarter.
The Minnesota won the match despite a cold night from 3 points, pulling 7 out of 47 from the Deep team. Having Gobert available and productive inside has helped to compensate for this.
The Timberwolves will progress to face the winner of the Golden State Warriors-Houseston Rockets series in the semi-finals of the West Conference. The Warriors are currently leading the 3-2 series, but I missed an opportunity to close the series on the road earlier Wednesday.
Rudy Gobert is settling in the range of little lakers
It cannot be denied that the Timberwolves Center has entered this match, or this playoff series, with a reputation with regard to the playoffs. Never an offensive dynamo, Gobert had a tendency to be much more precious in the regular season than the playoffs. This extended to this series, Gobert published only 14 points combined in the first four games with 4 shots out of 13.
Advertisement
Then the Lakers gave him a fairly ideal set of circumstances. Head coach JJ Redick said before the match that he would not play at the start center Jaxson Hayes in match 5, and the rescue center, Alex Len did not appear in the match either. No player in the Lakers starting range was only 6 8 inch feet.
With a significant advantage on each player in front of him, the 7 -foot Gobert 1 has suddenly become an essential player in attack for Minnesota.
Anthony Edwards, however …
While one of the Timberwolves All-Stars was booming, another was struggling.
After Publish 43 points in match 4Anthony Edwards had a hard time throughout the match. He finished with 12 points on a shot of 5 out of 19, although he also collected 11 rebounds, eight assists and three interceptions.
Advertisement
On the side of the Lakers, it was not an easy night for Austin Reaves either, with 12 points out of 5 of the 14 shots.
Luka Dončić undergoes an apparent back injury on Hard Foul
Dončić played the second half in a certain pain after a painful end at first half.
The Lakers star took a Donte Divincenzo's fault and immediately started to hold his back. The game was examined for a blatant but was considered a common fault, leaving Dončić to shoot two free throws, then go out for the locker room with a minute to play in the second quarter.
Fortunately for the Lakers, Dončić was back at the beginning of the third quarter, but he could still be seen sometimes grabbing his back. Dončić ended the match with a 28 -point summit, nine assists and seven rebounds.
Maxi Kleber made an incredibly timed lakers start
A member previously forgotten by Dončić's trade was Maxi Kleber, the great man of Dallas Mavericks who was released at the time of trade with a fracture of the feet. Kleber occupied the Lakers' sidelines while recovering for the rest of the season … until Wednesday.
Advertisement
Announced to be available before the match, Kleber entered the first quarter match, with his two -digit team in an elimination match. He finished the match with two points in five minutes.
The fact that the Lakers have played a long -standing bench player of 33 years on one or the other member of their central tandem in Hayes and Len show how much the team was pushed to its back during this series, and by Gobert in match 5.
JJ Redick entered the game with chip on his shoulder
Another episode that showed the opposite winds of the Lakers was the end of the Redick's pre-match press conference.
After revealing that Kleber was available, confirming that he would not play in Hayes and would refuse to reveal a starting training, Redick was invited to discuss substitutions with his assistant coaches after playing the same five players for the second half of match 4. The Lakers coach was not satisfied with the premise of the question, saying with a time that he always discusses substitutions by his assistants during waiting times.
Advertisement
After the defeat of match 5, the defeat ended the Lakers season, Redick said that he also had room for improvement.
“I can get much better,” said Redick.
