Regardless of style, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves know Game 3 is critical
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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James goes to the basket between Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle and guard Mike Conley during the fourth quarter of Game 2.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MINNESOTA – If you ask Los Angeles Lakers coach J.J. Redick, no two National Basketball Association (NBA) play-off games are the same.
One might be a low-scoring, physical affair. The next might be a shoot-out.
It is anybody’s guess how the pace will unfold when the Lakers tip off against the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 25 (April 26, Singapore time) in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round series.
The teams split the first two games in Los Angeles and will play the next two in Minneapolis.
After the Timberwolves won 117-95 in Game 1, the Lakers bounced back for a 94-85 victory in Game 2. Minnesota’s 85 points marked their lowest output of the season.
“I’ve seen enough of these and been in enough of these that you can have these low-scoring games and low-offensive output games that are very physical,” Redick said.
“And then all of a sudden, somebody starts making threes, there’s a few turnovers that leads to a high-transition half and somebody scores 120.
“That’s just kind of how basketball works. Every game is a little different. But I think the mentality from both teams is to have a rock fight.”
Luka Doncic leads the Lakers with 34 points per game so far in the series. He is shooting 50 per cent overall and 38.9 per cent from three-point range. LeBron James is averaging 20 points.
For the Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards is key with 23.5 points per game. He is shooting 40.9 per cent overall and 35.3 per cent from deep.
Minnesota coach Chris Finch conducted a film session with his players after Game 2. He told the team to focus on the next game and embrace playing on their home court.
“We just told the guys, our performances in LA and the results out there, all we’ve done is earn the right to be able to be great at home,” he said. “That’s what we’ve got to do.
“We’ve got to come out with a big start (on April 25). It should be a lot of fun and get the series back in our advantage.”
Timberwolves guard Mike Conley added that he and his teammates needed to play a sound, fundamental game after committing too many sloppy mistakes in their last game.
“Doing the easy thing can sometimes be the hard thing for us,” he said. “We just need to continue to do the easy reads, continue to make the quick decisions and (emphasise) communicating on defence.”
On the Lakers’ side, James said the team needed to maintain their intensity on defence as well, while finding ways to improve their efficiency on offence.
“We could still be better offensively,” he said. “We’re going to continue to get better, continue to watch the film, see ways we can break down the defence and continue to get good looks.”
In play-off action on April 24, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 114-108 win over the Memphis Grizzlies to take a 3-0 lead in their Western Conference series.
Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard recorded 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as the Los Angeles Clippers took a 2-1 lead with a 117-83 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
In the East, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 31 points to give the New York Knicks a 118-116 victory over the Detroit Pistons to go 2-1 up heading into Game 4. REUTERS, AFP
