Luka Doncic had 31 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers fought back to even their first-round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 94-85 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
LeBron James scored 21 points and Austin Reaves added 16 for the third-seeded Lakers, who rebounded from their blowout loss in Game 1 by jumping out to an early 22-point lead and hanging on through a physical matchup with sixth-seeded Minnesota.
Julius Randle scored 27 points and Anthony Edwards had 25 for the Timberwolves, who lost most of their offensive fluidity from their impressive series-opening win.
James added 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers, who never lost control of a chippy, choppy game with 46 combined personal fouls and multiple video reviews. James and Rui Hachimura both took hard shots to the face, and Hachimura played the second half in a mask.
Game 3 is Friday night in Minneapolis.
The Wolves hit a franchise-record 21 3-pointers while blowing out the Lakers 117-95 in Game 1 despite 37 points by Doncic. Los Angeles responded with more engaged defense and another big game from Doncic, while the Wolves couldn’t recapture their offensive fluidity until the fourth quarter.
Los Angeles took a 19-point lead in the first quarter of Game 2 with 16 points by Doncic, who exploited isolations on center Rudy Gobert. James’ first 3-pointer put the Lakers up 43-21 in the second quarter.
Los Angeles led 83-65 in the opening minute of the fourth, but Minnesota closed its gap to nine points while the Lakers went seven minutes between field goals. The Wolves still couldn’t muster enough offense closer.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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