Rudy Gobert scored 27 points and grabbed 24 rebounds as the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 on Wednesday.
Julius Randle put up 23 points as the sixth-seeded Timberwolves finished off a 4-1 first-round series win over the third-seeded Lakers.
The rebound total for Gobert was a Timberwolves postseason record and his personal career playoff high.
“We knew we had to have it at some point in this series,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said of Gobert. “He was awesome tonight just shedding defenders, nine offensive rebounds, super active on defense, finished extremely well when he had the opportunity. They became a little more active on the ball this game, and that released Rudy’s rolls (to the basket).”
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards was limited to 15 points, while Donte DiVincenzo added nine on an off night for both players. Edwards shot 0-for-11 from 3-point range, and DiVincenzo was 2-for-12.
The Timberwolves had a 54-37 rebounding advantage while advancing out of the first round for the second consecutive season after not getting that far over the previous 19 seasons. They will face either the Houston Rockets or the Golden State Warriors in the next round.
Luka Doncic put up 28 points and LeBron James added 22 for the Lakers, as the NBA’s newest dynamic duo saw its season come to an end. Doncic, who also had nine assists and seven rebounds, was limited in the second half after sustaining a back injury following a hard foul by DiVincenzo with 1:01 remaining before halftime.
Rui Hachimura scored 23 points and Austin Reaves had 12 for Los Angeles, which went 20-17, including playoff games, after Doncic made his debut with the team on Feb. 10 following a trade from the Dallas Mavericks.
The Lakers, who trailed by 14 in the first half, got within two on a 3-pointer by James with 3:08 left in the game. Randle then hit a layup and Edwards added an inside hoop to give the Timberwolves a 97-91 lead with 2:22 to go.
“We obviously put ourselves in a position to be in the game three times in the fourth quarter and just came up short every time,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “The offensive part of it, tonight in particular, we missed wide-open 3s, we missed a couple of shots at the rim (in the fourth quarter). We got good looks.”
Hachimura got the Lakers within three on a 3-pointer with 1:42 remaining, but Mike Conley answered with a trey for Minnesota for a 100-94 lead with 1:22 left. The shot ended an 0-for-18 dry spell for the Timberwolves from long range. Minnesota won despite shooting 7 of 47 (14.9 percent) from beyond the arc.
With a chance to advance, Minnesota got off to a fast start to lead 29-15 in the first quarter en route to a 59-49 edge at halftime.
With a hobbled Doncic, Los Angeles made a charge in the third quarter, taking its first lead of the game at 78-77 on Dorian Finney-Smith’s 3-pointer with 2:38 remaining in the period. Minnesota went into the fourth quarter with an 81-80 advantage.
“I just told the guys, we didn’t shoot the ball well but I thought we were the tougher team mentally and physically. That’s when it showed itself,” Finch said. “We were able to withstand the run. I told them after the (third) quarter, ‘After all that, we’re still up one. Let’s go win.'”
The playoff ouster did not dampen Redick’s enthusiasm for the Doncic-James combination.
“We played 13 games with our playoff rotation in the regular season. LeBron and Luka obviously played a lot more than that together. These things take time,” Redick said. “Luka just went through it in Dallas with Kyrie (Irving). It obviously doesn’t happen overnight. We wish that part of it we could figure out better and were in a better place and more comfortable with that in the fourth quarter of playoff games. But that partnership and relationship was more than solid.”
–Field Level Media
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