LeBron James and the Lakers are officially back in the playoffs. (AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers had to endure a wild fourth quarter to get there, but they’re officially headed for the playoffs.
The Lakers rebounded from a 15-point hole in the second half to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-102 in overtime in their play-in tournament game Tuesday night at the Crypto.com Arena. That officially brought them back to the playoffs and established a first-round series with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The fourth quarter was incredibly chaotic and could have gone either way multiple times.
The Lakers had ended things after a late 16-6 run in the fourth quarter while keeping the Timberwolves scoreless for more than five minutes. That, thanks largely to a big run late in the third, erased a 15-point lead for the Timberwolves. As James finished time for one final shot, he drove to the basket and cornered Schroder – who was absolutely wide open and sinking the bucket by just over a second.
After a time out, Anthony Davis advanced the ball, which he couldn’t do in the last game. The Lakers big man fouled Timberwolves guard Mike Conley as he attempted a last-second lift from a corner that didn’t have much of a chance of falling. That sent Conley to the free throw line for the first time in the game. He hit all three and forced overtime.
“I’ve been playing the game like this since I was a kid. I pulled the defense, trust your teammates. [Schroder] knocked it down,” James said of the last take on TNT.
“It’s unfortunate that AD had a brain fart and messed up his game winner.”
The Timberwolves, who scored just 12 points in fourth place and looked offensively beaten on the course, struggled in overtime. The Lakers held them to just four points, a dunk and a layup by Anthony Edwards in overtime as the Lakers advanced to the six-point win.
James led the Lakers to victory with 30 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Davis added 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Schroder added 21 points from the bench. The Lakers, who missed the playoffs last season, have not won a playoff series since their title run amid Walt Disney World’s COVID-19 bubble in 2020. Their series against the Grizzlies begins Sunday in Memphis.
The story goes on
Towns led Minnesota with 24 points and 11 rebounds, although he didn’t score in either the fourth quarter or overtime. Conley added 23 points and shot 6 of 8 from the 3-point line. While shooting 40% from behind the bow, the Timberwolves committed 21 turnovers on the night. This game marked their 19th game that season that they lost by a margin of 15 points or more.
Minnesota will now take on play-in game winner New Orleans Pelicans-Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves were without Rudy Gobert, who was suspended for the play-in game after beating teammate Kyle Anderson in their last regular-season game on Sunday. He is expected to rejoin the team for Friday’s game.
Whoever wins this matchup will advance to the last playoff spot in the Western Conference and take on the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round.