The Minnesota Timberwolves were 3-5 at home in the playoffs last season, the worst record in the NBA amongst the eight teams that played more than three games at home.
Ahead of Game 3 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, Nickeil Alexander-Walker brushed off the playoff woes at home, focusing on the present.
“That’s last year,” Alexander-Walker said. “I think this is a new year, a new team, and a new group. The stakes are different – different situation. For us, it’s 0-0. The mindset is to come in and win. Allow the energy in the building, from the fans, to get us going. But also to be together, ready, and prepared.”
The Wolves were 30-11 at home last season and 25-16 this season. Minnesota’s inability to generate the necessary energy levels this season never sat right with Finch.
He chalked up some of Minnesota’s issues at home in the playoffs last season to complacency after the team went up 2-0 on the road against the Denver Nuggets. Whether due to complacency last season or a lack of energy to start games this year, all championship-level teams take advantage of being at home.
On Friday, the Wolves needed to prove they left their struggles at home in the playoffs, which bled over into this season, are in the past. They split the first two games in Los Angeles and needed to capitalize on their home-court advantage in more ways than one.
The crowd popped early Friday night. Tip-off wasn’t until 8:53 PM, and the fans were ready. Minnesota’s last home game was two weeks ago. Julius Randle took Jaxson Hayes off the bounce two minutes into the first quarter. Randle muscled his way in for a left-handed layup, as the crowd roared around him.
It was far from the loudest moment in the first frame, which goes to Rudy Gobert’s snatchblock that resulted in an Anthony Edwards transition dunk. However, Edwards said the crowd’s decibel levels were so high after Randle’s layup that he couldn’t hear his teammates.
“It was so loud in there, I couldn’t hear the play,” Edwards said. “I couldn’t hear what play we were in. I couldn’t hear Rudy say, ‘Screen left, Sac.’ I couldn’t hear nothing. Like, it was so loud in there. That was probably the most fun I’ve had in Target Center, for sure.”
After the Lakers outscored Minnesota 34-15 in the first quarter of Game 2, the Wolves knew they had to come out strong in Game 3. They couldn’t allow LA to come out of the gates playing more aggressively than them or setting the tone in transition. They also couldn’t let Luka Dončić, who dropped 16 points in the first quarter of Games 1 and 2, get off to another hot start.
Wolves fans remember what Dončić did to their team last year. They remember the shot he hit over Gobert and how Luka dominated against Jaden McDaniels. Therefore, they booed the loudest when Dončić was introduced in the starting lineup and cheered the loudest when McDaniels locked him up early in the game.
“I thought [Jaden] and Julius did an excellent job setting the tone today,” Finch said postgame. “Just being aggressive, playing with a lot of force, and then battling their matchups.”
The Wolves led after the first quarter for the first time in the series. They only led by six, but Minnesota shot 12 of 22 (54.5%) from the floor and converted nine points off four Lakers turnovers. Randle had eight quick points and two assists on 4 of 4 from the free throw line. McDaniels also had eight points on 4 of 5 from the floor.
It was hands-down Minnesota’s best start of the series. Even though LA shot 11 of 21 (52.4%) from the floor, the Wolves were playing excellent defense.
Despite Dončić, who was ill with a stomach bug, going 1 for 6 from the floor in the first quarter, LA was hitting ridiculous shots, a trend that continued for the entire game.
The Timberwolves had to weather a second quarter similar to Game 2.
Minnesota shot 8 of 25 (32%) from the floor and 1 of 9 (11.1%) from deep, while the Lakers outscored them 32-22 on 11 of 21 (52.4%) from the floor and 5 of 11 from 3-point range. The Timberwolves contested most of LA’s attempts in the second quarter, but the Lakers cashed in anyway.
A depleted Dončić netted his first 3-pointer of the night impressively, drilling it right in Edwards’ face to end the first half. The long-range hit sparked a roar from the large contingent of Lakers fans. Meanwhile, Wolves fans anxiously groaned. They helplessly watched Hall of Fame shot-makers take over games in the playoffs before. Last season, it was Nikola Jokić in the second round and Dončić and Kyrie Irving in the Western Conference Finals.
On Friday, it was LeBron James.
Minnesota dropped 32 points on 12 of 22 (54.5%) from the floor in the third quarter, but it only led by two as LA continued to hit miraculous shots. By the fourth, both teams were exchanging blows. The law of averages would say that, at some point, the Lakers would come back down to earth and start missing some of their improbable makes.
However, it was only fitting that James, who turned 40 on Dec. 30 and has defined the law of averages at every stop, continued his impressive night with three-straight 3-point bombs mid-way through the fourth quarter.
“He was shootin’ it from Yucatan,” Edwards said. “He was shooting it crazy, for sure.”
LeBron was up to 38 points on 13 of 20 (65%) from the floor. With 4:37 left in the fourth, the game was tied, and it was fight or flight time for the Wolves.
They broke from the timeout and outscored LA 13-1 to close out a 116-104 win. The Timberwolves shot 5 of 7 from the floor while holding LA to 0 of 6 and effectively getting the ball out of LeBron and Luka’s hands (they combined for one shot attempt in that span). Edwards went into hero mode, recording seven points and two assists.
After singing along to Purple Rain during a coach’s challenge, Target Center lost its mind again when Edwards’ pull-up with 1:06 remaining put the game on ice.
“It was better than the Lakers crowd, for sure,” McDaniels said postgame. “They came out and did their job. We feed off their energy. We are grateful for them.”
Good teams play well at home. Great teams control the beginning and end of games. Even better, teams combine those things in the playoffs. The Wolves were one of those teams on Friday. The length of their playoff run will measure the greatness of this year’s team.
Regardless, by winning in front of the loudest crowd of the season, the Wolves took the first step in proving to their faithful fans that their home woes are behind them. They sent up a Game 4 on Sunday that will be just as loud, if not louder, than Friday night. More importantly, the Wolves took a 2-1 series lead, remaining in the driver’s seat to advance out of the first round.
