Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick was full of praise for Rui Hachimura after their 94-85 win in Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday. Redick appeared to be fuming at Hachimura during a timeout in the third quarter, but applauded him postgame for giving it his all after getting hit in the face by Naz Reid.
“He played like a warrior tonight,” Redick said. “I’m sure he’s probably in the X-ray room right now, but he did a lot of really good things, I think.
“When we watched the tape, there was a few plays that he made just getting deflections and disrupting plays, leading to late shot clock possessions for them,” Redick added. “Some plays at the rim that don’t show up in the box score, but he was awesome tonight.”
Hachimura made an impact on both ends of the court for the Lakers against the Timberwolves, despite being forced to wear a mask for much of that game. The 27-year-old wore a clear mask at first after getting hit by Reid, but then ditched it for a black one later.
While Redick appreciated Hachimura’s desire to be out there for the Lakers, he took issue with his play in the third quarter. An enraged Redick called a timeout due to his team’s slow start after halftime, and it appeared most of his anger was directed at Hachimura.
Confirmed pic.twitter.com/mFxWWX97k4 https://t.co/UibxKU39Uf
— 🏆LakersGuru🏆 (@GuruLakers) April 23, 2025
While some players might not have reacted well to getting put on blast like that by their head coach, Hachimura did. The 27-year-old played great defense from then on and even scored six points in that third quarter.
Hachimura would finish Game 2 with 11 points (4-9 FG), five rebounds, two steals, and a block. Those aren’t incredible numbers, but as Redick stated, you won’t be able to measure his impact on the game by just looking at the box score.
Someone who did manage to fill up that statsheet was Luka Doncic, who had his second-straight 30-point game of the series here. Doncic finished with 31 points (9-20 FG), 12 rebounds, nine assists, and one block against the Timberwolves. His last three assists were all for Hachimura in the third quarter as they helped the Lakers maintain control after a slow start to the period.
The Timberwolves did manage to give the Lakers a bit of a scare late in the fourth quarter, but the hosts held on to tie the series at 1-1. The Timberwolves would certainly be the happier team after two games, having snatched home-court advantage, and the Lakers would be keen to regain it as soon as possible.
Game 3 between these teams will be in Minnesota at the Target Center on Friday at 9:30 PM ET. It’s not a must-win for either team, but the one that emerges victorious will be in a good position to advance to the Conference Semifinals.
