News, notes and observations from Tuesday’s play-in games, as we are still reeling from an absolutely bonkers Lakers-Timberwolves play-in clash.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Lakers move on
- What a wild game in Los Angeles. Through three quarters the Timberwolves—the Rudy Gobert–less, Jaden McDaniels–less, barely functional Timberwolves—looked poised to force the Lakers into Friday’s win-or-go-home game just to make the playoffs. Karl-Anthony Towns was outplaying Anthony Davis. Mike Conley was dominating D’Angelo Russell. L.A.’s vaunted defense was allowing Minnesota to shoot 51.7% from the floor and 41.1% from three-point range. In the fourth quarter, Towns got into foul trouble, the T-Wolves’ offense collapsed and the Lakers, which outscored Minnesota 29–16 in the fourth quarter and overtime, came away with a 108–102 overtime win.
- It was also a roller coaster of a game for Davis. He struggled early and dominated late. He finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks but nearly blew it by stepping into Conley’s landing space with 1.4 seconds left in regulation, sending Conley to the line for three game-tying free throws. Davis did help hold Towns scoreless in the fourth quarter and overtime, however.
- Speaking of scoreless: After Conley knocked down a three-pointer with 6:01 remaining in the fourth quarter to give Minnesota a 95–88 lead, the Wolves failed to score again until Conley’s free throws with one-tenth of a second left. Great defense by the Lakers. Worse offense by the Wolves.
- The two teams combined for 45 turnovers Tuesday. Austin Reaves turned the ball over late in the fourth quarter. Seconds later Kyle Anderson gave it back. LeBron James threw the ball into the hands of Conley late in overtime, which set up Taurean Prince for what would have been a game-tying three. This was an exciting game. Just not a very good one.
- A big opportunity missed for Towns. For a team that had no business being competitive in Tuesday’s game with two starters out of the lineup, Towns’s early brilliance had Minnesota in it. But he picked up a foolish fifth foul early in the fourth quarter and spent the rest of it seemingly terrified of picking up his sixth. He let Davis lock him up in the post and looked lost when the Lakers switched Austin Reaves onto him on the perimeter. Towns has played well since his return from injury last month, but the end of this one was a stinker.
- Yuck, Anthony Edwards. The Wolves All-Star was 3-for-17 from the floor, including 0-for-9 from the free throw line. He forced shots, committed sloppy turnovers (four) and looked out of sorts in his 43 minutes. Minnesota will need Edwards to regroup for Friday if they want to sneak into the playoffs.
- Big game for Dennis Schröder, who picked the Lakers up when Russell struggled and knocked down what would have been a game-winning three-pointer had Davis not bowled over Conley in the final seconds. Schröder has thrived in his return to Los Angeles and his play-in performance (21 points and a team-high plus-22) showed his value.
On the east side …
- A .500-ish team under Nate McMillan, which became a .500-ish team under current coach Quin Snyder, Atlanta always had the firepower, especially in the backcourt, to put in this kind of performance—a 116–105 victory over the Heat to lock up the No. 7 spot. But what a dud by Miami. The Heat have been one of this season’s most disappointing teams, a No. 1 seed last season that will need to win later this week just to get into the playoffs. Miami’s offense continues to be abysmal (43% from the floor, 32% from three-point range against the Hawks), and coach Erik Spoelstra can’t count on anyone but Kyle Lowry off the bench. Atlanta is now 3–0 in play-in games over the past two seasons, by the way. Don’t mess with the Hawks in the play-in.
- How many had the Hawks, five-point underdogs entering the Eastern Conference 7–8 game, rolling the Heat on the road? Miami scored the first bucket in the first quarter … and never led again. A fourth-quarter rally that cut Atlanta’s lead to seven was quickly snuffed out as the Hawks preserved the win. Atlanta’s Trae Young scored 25 points, Dejounte Murray added 18 and all four reserves who played minutes scored in double figures. A wire-to-wire shellacking.
- Key numbers from Hawks-Heat? Try rebounding, where Atlanta crushed Miami 63–39 on the boards, including 22–6 on the offensive glass. The Hawks also scored 64 points in the paint (to the Heat’s 46) and were beat 26–6 on second-chance points. Yikes.
The last word ...
Young with the last word, and a little dig at Miami’s Jimmy Butler: “I know Jimmy guaranteed a dub, so I was really focused on making sure that didn’t happen.”
