After slow start, Wolves bite back to beat Lakers in series opener

Jaden McDaniels collected 25 points with nine rebounds and Anthony Edwards added 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, as the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves rolled to a 117-95 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening game of a first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Naz Reid scored 23 points and Julius Randle had 16 as the No 6 seed Timberwolves improved to 5-0 in first-round games over the past two seasons.

Minnesota shot 51.2 percent from the floor and went 21 of 42 from 3-point range while continuing its success from the end of the regular season, when it closed with a 17-4 record.

"It was just going out and playing with confidence," McDaniels said on the ABC broadcast. "I know all my teammates trust me. (Edwards) always tells me, shoot the ball no matter what, miss or make, and that's what I did tonight."

On an otherwise ideal night, the Timberwolves saw Edwards depart to the locker room late in the third quarter with an apparent left leg injury, before returning in the fourth quarter. Reid was also injured late in the game.

Luka Doncic scored 37 points with eight rebounds, and LeBron James added 19 points for the No 3 seed Lakers, which shot 39.8 percent from the floor and lacked the energy present since Doncic was acquired in a February trade from the Dallas Mavericks.

Austin Reaves had 16 points after a slow start for Los Angeles, which was outscored 25-6 on fast-break points and 43-13 in bench points.

The Lakers owned the first quarter, taking a 28-21 lead, before the Timberwolves took charge in the second quarter to take a 59-48 lead into halftime. Minnesota shot 54.2 percent in the second quarter while scoring 38 points.

The Wolves punctuated their second-quarter domination when Donte DiVincenzo made a nine-meter 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer.

The Timberwolves continued their push into the second half, opening on an 11-0 run to take a 70-48 lead less than two minutes into the third quarter.

Minnesota had an 88-64 lead when Edwards landed hard after a drive to the basket and walked back to the locker room with 2:58 left in the third quarter. He checked back into the game with 10:57 remaining on the clock.

Reid departed with 9:26 remaining after taking an inadvertent elbow to the head from the Lakers' Jarred Vanderbilt.

Reuters