On Friday, the Target Center crowd was electric, drawing praise from both players and coaches. On Sunday, they brought it to another level for Game 4 of the series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The opening quarter and a half of the game was a bit of a struggle offensively for the Wolves as they were unable to consistently make shots from both beyond the arc and in the paint. As has been the case the entire series, the Timberwolves’ defense kept them in the game during the rough offensive stretch.
With the Lakers up eight late in the second quarter, Anthony Edwards began to drag the Wolves’ offense out of the doldrums by driving to the lane, dishing to teammates, and finishing around the basket.
After trailing almost the entire first half, Minnesota took its first lead since the score was 5-2 on a pair of Edwards free throws with 1:28 remaining in the first half. It was an impressive stretch from the young superstar who, while playing well most of the series, had yet to have a truly dominant stretch.
The crowd reached its zenith right before the end of the second quarter when Julius Randle hit a stepback 3-pointer over Luka Dončić to give the Wolves a 61-58 halftime lead.
Coming out of the halftime locker room, the Wolves’ energy and execution were absolutely dreadful. The ball movement that got them back in the game disappeared, and the defensive rotations were a step slow, leading to a 14-0 Laker run, giving them their largest lead of the game at 11.
With the game on the brink of slipping away, the Wolves put together a 9-0 run to cut the lead back to two. Edwards had four of the points, with the other five coming off of offensive rebounds.
Just as it seemed like the Wolves were regaining momentum in the game, Dončić took control of the game, making tough shots and creating wide-open 3-pointers for his teammates. The Wolves’ defense eventually found its footing again, but not before the Lakers built a nine-point lead heading into clutch time in the fourth quarter.
With the Wolves needing offense, Chris Finch elected to bring Naz Reid back into the game. That decision immediately paid dividends as Naz scored five straight points to get the Wolves right back into the game.
The insanity of this game had only gotten started as the Wolves were able to build a four-point lead after a Donte DiVincenzo cutting and-1 layup. The Lakers would immediately respond with back-to-back 3-pointers from Austin Reaves and Dorian Finney-Smith to take a two-point lead with a minute left.
On the next possession, Edwards made the correct decision to pass the ball out of a double-team. The ball eventually found Jaden McDaniels, who slammed the ball home and hit the subsequent free throw to take the lead.
After a stop and a pair of Edwards free throws to put the Timberwolves up three with less than ten seconds left, the Lakers decided not to call a timeout and found Reaves wide open in the corner. With every fan’s heart in their throat, the 3-pointer bounced off the rim.
The Timberwolves won Game 4 by a final score of 116-113. Edwards was utterly sensational, scoring 43 points, including 14 free throws. Dončić was equally amazing, scoring 38 points while generating a ton of good shots for teammates.
This story will be updated throughout the night after coach and player media availabilities.
Up Next
With the win, the Wolves take a commanding 3-1 series win, needing just one more win to eliminate the Lakers. The series shifts back to Los Angeles and Crypto.com Arena for Game 5 on Wednesday.
It is another late-night start as Game 5 is scheduled to start at 9:00 PM CT. Fans can watch the game nationally on TNT or locally on FanDuel Sports Network.
Game Highlights
