Long minutes before the in-between of this decisive game 5 between Lakers and Wolves, Yugoslav music-notably pieces of Serbian singer Ana Nikolic-escaped from the enclosures of the crypto.com Arena.
The Magician Slovenian, Luka Doncic, on the other hand, has long played bad grades: constantly targeted by the defense of Minnesota at the start of the match and not up to this meeting at halftime, the former MAVS leader, despite his 28 points, has generally disappointed as the rest of his team: apart from a hot stroke in the 3rd quarter (13 points), he did not manage to avoid the defeat (103-96) Faced with the Wolves of Rudy Gobert, and a second following elimination in the first round of the Playoffs…
A very large Rudy Gobert!
Opposite, the Wolves were worn by a very good Rudy Gobert: both a scorer and a rebounder, he well locked the racket of the men of Chris Finch, often frustrating Lebron James and his band.
And he greatly participated in the rebound domination of his team, to afford a lot of second chances.
Despite the first minutes of Maxi Kleber with the “Yellow & Purple”, injured in the foot with the Mavs against the Celtics, at the end of January, the Lakers did not succeed in controlling the physical impact of Wolves. Too little aggressive, and in clear lack of size and power, the Lakers lacked a feeling of urgent and revolt to compensate.
Applied and serene, the finalists of the Western conference last year-despite a long-distance address at half mast at the break (6/30)-had taken up to 14 points ahead (29-15) in the first quarter, before Rui Hachimura and his own recollant in stride.
The size counts …
But while the Wolves continued to stop shooting at a long time, the Lakers, with a Luka Do chief of the lead, took control of the meeting for the first time on a award-winning Dorian-Smith (78-77), at the start of the last two minutes of the 3rd quarter.
There was a mano in Mano in the last period of regulation time: in an breathtaking end of the match, the Wolves finally made the difference thanks to their physical impact, Julius Randle playing his shoulders against Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic while Rudy Gobert was rapping in the rebound.
Tired, as often in the fourth quarters of the series, Luka Doncic and his teammates were no longer able to find the target, letting the match (103-96) and the series go…
What to remember
– Lakers never really in the spot. Promising in the regular season for the first of JJ Redick on the Californian bench (3rd to the west, 50 victories-32 defeats), the Lakers once again disappointed in “Postseason”: after being eliminated 4-1 by the Nuggets last year, the franchise with 17 NBA titles still took the door in the first round, beaten 4-1 by Minnesota. Rudy Gobert and the Wolves, a conference finalists last year against the Mavs, will find the winner of the series between the Rockets and the Warriors in the next round.
– A Rudy Gobert Scorreur and in record mode. Long mocked and heckled by the Lakers in this series, the tricolor interior has been omnipresent on both sides of the field. Impreshing bulwark in defense and rebound machine (24 sockets), the old post 5 of Cholet also had a considerable weight in attack. Best marker of the Wolves (27 points at 12/15 shooting), he broke his record of points in playoffs, doing better than his 24 units scored in the first round with jazz against the Nuggets, in 2020.
– The choices of JJ Redick Punis. The coach decided to do without Jaxson Hayes and overall in size, betting on a small major five which was largely punished in the rebound (54 taken at 37 for the Wolves). Again, his Lakers seemed on the kneecaps at the end of the match, and his team failed to take advantage of the awkwardness of the Wolves from afar (7/47), being punished in the physical impact under the circle. He even surprised everyone by throwing Maxi Kleber at the end, who had not played and had not trained since January …
Of our special envoy to Los Angeles (California).
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How to read the stats? Min = minutes; Shots = successful shots / tempted shots; 3pts = 3-point / 3-point attempted; LF = Successful free throws / tempted free throws; O = offensive rebound; D = defensive rebound; T = total rebounds; PD = assists; FTE: Personal faults; Int = interceptions; BP = lost bullets; CT: against; +/- = Differential points when the player is on the field; Pts = points; EVAL: evaluation of the player calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
 send the Lakers on vacation!){kind=link}