Should Lakers be concerned following 22-point loss to Timberwolves at home?

After the Minnesota Timberwolves stunned the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, leading by as much as 27 points on Los Angeles’ home court, Anthony Edwards was asked if he had a message for all of the national media that picked the Lakers to win.  

“No message, man,” Edwards said, “They still got the Lakers. The Lakers are supposed to win. That’s just how it’s supposed to go. We’re not supposed to be here. So, we’re just going to compete.”

Edwards played it cool, but the Timberwolves delivered an emphatic message in their 117-95 win on Saturday: Don’t sleep on us.

Yes, the Lakers are the third seed and have two of the biggest superstars in the league in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. But the Timberwolves made it to the Western Conference Finals last season, and, even though they’ve had some bumps this season, they’re deep, physical and hungry. 

For the Lakers, things got out of hand quickly. They were in control in the first quarter, with Doncic scoring 16 points to give the Lakers a 28-21 lead, despite James and Austin Reaves going a combined 0-for-5 over that period. It seemed as though LA was surely going to clobber the Timberwolves as soon as the floodgates opened for its other two superstars. 

The only problem was James and Reaves remained cold, leaving Doncic on an island against a Timberwolves team that was about to catch fire. In the second quarter, the Timberwolves outscored the Lakers, 38-20. The barrage continued in the third quarter, with the Timberwolves storming out of halftime with an 11-0 run. 

The Lakers didn’t just lose. They were humiliated. At times, it looked as though they weren’t even trying, with them gesticulating their frustration instead of running back on defense.

The question now is: Are the Lakers in trouble?

They’re obviously not panicking: “We let go of the rope,” said Doncic, who had 37 points and eight rebounds. “I think that they just physically beat us from the get-go,” said Reaves, who had 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting. “We gotta do a better job of controlling the controllables,” said James, who had 19 points, though it took him 18 shots to get them.

The fans at Crypto.com Arena, who opened the night wildly cheering in celebration of the Lakers having home court advantage in the playoffs for the first time since 2020, were stunned into near-silence in the second quarter.

The Timberwolves overwhelmed the Lakers – on defense, with swarming bodies, and on offense, with a 3-point barrage, making a franchise playoff-record 21 3-pointers on 42 attempts from beyond the arc (50 percent). Jaden McDaniels scored 25 points. Naz Reid added 23 points with six 3-pointers. And Edwards had 22 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

It was a complete team effort for the Timberwolves, who kept things in perspective despite their dominant performance. 

“It means Game 1,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “We know it’s going to be a long series. We’re not under any assumption that it’s going to be this type of game in Game 2. It’ll be a completely different game. We got a lot left. A lot of meat on the bone out there. A lot of things. I know we can do better.”

Both teams had about a week off after clinching their respective seeds. 

But with the way things played out Saturday, it seemed as though the Lakers miscalculated that their recent success would carry  into the postseason, while the Timberwolves prepared for war. 

Heck, the Timberwolves were even locked in on their plane ride to Los Angeles. 

“The four hours that we was on our way here, we talked, we watched games when [the Lakers] played against OKC, when they played against Dallas,” Edwards said. 

It all worked out for the Timberwolves, who made it clear they can’t be overlooked. 

As for the Lakers, they’re hoping Game 1 was just an anomaly, as opposed to the beginning of the end.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

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