Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels is coming under fire from Los Angeles Lakers fans for tripping Luka Doncic in Game 2. McDaniels appeared to have intentionally committed the act in the fourth quarter by locking Doncic’s leg, but the officials missed it.
A GROWN MAN LEG-LOCKING LUKA TO TAKE HIM TO THE GROUND? THIS IS WHAT THEY DIDN’T REVIEW? 🤡
Jaden McDaniels is DIRTY for this 🤬
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) April 23, 2025
Lakers fans ripped McDaniels over this incident.
“That was a dirty a** play. Should get a fine,” one Lakers fan wants McDaniels to get a fine.
“Trying to injure Luka,” another believes this was an attempt to injure Doncic.
“Gotta suspend him. This is an effort to injure. NBA gotta be better,” a Lakers fan wants McDaniels to be suspended.
“But… but… they said refs favor the Lakers,” one fan mocked those who believe the referees favor the Lakers.
“Don’t forget Naz hitting Rui on the face, Randle landing his forearm on LeBron’s head. Even that dirty DiVincenzo elbowing Vando on the chest and initially getting away with it had JJ not challenged,” a Lakers fan listed all the dirty plays committed by the Timberwolves in this series.
Lakers fans certainly seem to believe the Timberwolves have gone over the top with the physicality in this series. Some of the players have been bruised, but Doncic was unscathed after this fall. The 26-year-old was not happy about the no-call, though, and made it clear to the officials later that he had been tripped.
Doncic would have been even more upset had the Lakers ended up losing here, but they managed to keep the Timberwolves at bay. That shot by McDaniels capped off a 12-5 run that had cut a deficit that was 22 at one point, to just nine. That was as close as the Timberwolves would get, though, as they ended up losing 94-85.
Doncic was once again the best player for the Lakers on the night, finishing with 31 points (9-20 FG), 12 rebounds, nine assists, and a block. As for McDaniels, he wasn’t able to duplicate his heroics from Game 1, where he had 25 points. He put up just eight points (3-11 FG), four rebounds, one assist, and one block, and this series is now tied at 1-1.
Charles Barkley And Kenny Smith Believe This Was A Dirty Play
Lakers fans aren’t the only ones who thought this was a dirty play. Charles Barkley criticized McDaniels for this act on Inside the NBA postgame.
“I like physical basketball, but this is a dirty play right here when you leg lock somebody like that,” Barkley said. “… You just can’t do this right here.”
Shaquille O’Neal did not have a problem with McDaniels’ act and claimed this was just playoff basketball. Kenny Smith, however, was more on Barkley’s side.
“I thought it was cheap but not excessive,” Smith said. “… It was a cheap play, but I don’t think it was excessive… It would merit a fine… It was dirty, but it wasn’t excessive.”
Barkley agreed that McDaniels should be fined. It will be interesting to see if the NBA does punish the 24-year-old in some way here. This series now switches to Minnesota, with Game 3 being played at Target Center on Friday at 9:30 PM ET.
