The Minnesota Timberwolves picked up a 117-95 road win for Game 1 of their Playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers did cut the lead to single digits in the final quarter, buoyed by Luka Doncic’s dominance as well, after Doncic hit a buzzer-beating half-court three to end the third quarter.
Unfortunately, the atmosphere in the Crypto.com Arena didn’t intimidate Anthony Edwards like last year when he faced similar situations against the Denver Nuggets. He admitted the same in his post-game interview.
“An atmosphere like this, it’s easy for me, man. I’ve played in Denver, man. Denver is a tough place to play on the road. So I mean, it was nothing.”
i can’t bring myself to hate this guy he always shows respect towards denver pic.twitter.com/9Pr4cxJJaY
— BoNixSzn (@TheJokerSexua11) April 20, 2025
It was an impressive win where the Wolves shot 50% from three (21-42 3PM) and ensured no comeback attempt by the Lakers would be good enough to make this game a close contest.
The fact that they shot 50% from three in a road arena shows they weren’t really fazed by the advantage the Lakers get by hosting the first two games of the series at home.
Edwards was doing everything, putting up 22 points (8-22 FG), eight rebounds, and nine assists despite a slow start. He went out of the game with an injury but returned in time for the fourth, hitting many of the clutch baskets that ensured the Wolves picked up this win.
He wasn’t the only one, with Jaden McDaniels leading all scorers with 25 points (11-13 FG) and nine rebounds, while Naz Reid came off the bench to score 23 points (8-12 FG, 6-9 3P).
The Lakers lost home-court advantage, despite one star performer trying to get the win. Luka Doncic made his Lakers Playoff debut in style, ending the night with 37 points (12-22 FG) and eight rebounds.
No other Laker cracked 20 points, with LeBron James scoring 19 points (8-18 FG) with five rebounds, two steals, and three blocks. Austin Reaves scored 16 points (5-13 FG), 14 coming in the third quarter.
The Nuggets have one of the biggest homecourt advantages in the NBA with a highly elevated arena, which prompts opposing players to run out of stamina sooner if they’re not prepared for it. This helps the Nuggets greatly, as they’re often the more energetic team due to the high intensity they play with, even though they are at greater risk of getting fatigued.
The fans in Denver are also far more diehard than the average fans attending a Lakers Playoff game. As a result, their home-court advantage was pointless because the fans never tried rallying their team into a comeback either. Hopefully, everyone is dialed in from the start of Game 2 to ensure the Lakers don’t head to Minnesota down 0-2.
