The Minnesota Timberwolves are a win away from securing a first-round upset over the Los Angeles Lakers, earning a 116-113 victory in Sunday’s Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead.
In a game that went back and forth for all 48 minutes, the Timberwolves were able to pull away due to a string of clutch plays in the final 40 seconds. First, Jaden McDaniels made a layup while getting fouled by Austin Reaves with 39.1 seconds remaining to tie the game at 113-113. McDaniels hit the ensuing free throw to give his team a one-point lead.
McDaniels played tight defense on Luka Doncic on the inbound following his free-throw make, with the Lakers star stumbling at midcourt with 33 seconds left. Los Angeles was forced to call a timeout as a result of the play, leaving Lakers coach JJ Redick noticeably irate on the sideline.
“To start with, Luka got tripped,” Redick told reporters after the game. “That was a blatant trip. He doesn’t just fall on his own. We rewatched it, he gets tripped. So we should have been at the free-throw line. It’s not an excuse for why we lost, but he got fouled. We had a chance to go up.”
Doncic also believes he got tripped.
“What do you think, do you think I got tripped?” Doncic replied when asked about the play. “Oh yeah, I think I got tripped, for sure. We had to call timeout.”
Following the timeout, McDaniels came up with a steal on LeBron James‘ pass with 30 seconds remaining. As the Timberwolves sought to add to their lead in the final seconds, Anthony Edwards drove to the rim, but lost the ball and watched it go out of bounds with 10.1 seconds left. However, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch challenged the call, which was overturned and ruled to be a foul on James.
James objected to the overturn of the call, believing that he got a clean strip.
“That play happens all the time,” James said. “Hand is part of that ball. That’s what they say. I feel like the hand was a part of that ball. I was able to hit his hand on top of the ball, stripped out and out him. I’ve seen that play over and over before.”
Of course, Edwards disagreed with James’ assertion.
“I knew he fouled me because he swiped down real hard and hit my arm,” Edwards said. “That was a great overturn by the refs, we appreciate them.”
With the Lakers being over the foul limit, Edwards went to the free-throw line and made both attempts to give the Timberwolves a 116-113 lead.
The Lakers called their last timeout after Doncic’s trip, so they couldn’t advance the ball following Edwards’ free-throw makes. They were still able to get a good look to try and tie the game, though. The Timberwolves opted not to foul up three, with Reaves getting open in the corner in the final seconds. His game-tying 3-point attempt rimmed out right before the buzzer, though.
Edwards’ two made free throws at the end gave him a game-high 43 points as he outdueled the Lakers’ two top stars. Doncic finished with 38 points while James had 27 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in 46 minutes. But James didn’t score in the fourth quarter of the loss.
“I’ve been dreaming of this all my life, whether it was football or basketball,” Edwards said of his performance on Sunday. “Just being in these situations, and now it’s going against LeBron and Luka. Luka’s probably the best young player in the game and LeBron is the best player to ever play the game. Just trying to prove I belong and tell all my haters and people who criticize me that I’m better than they think.”
James and Doncic put up major minutes in the Lakers’ loss as well, with each logging 46 minutes. In fact, James, Doncic, Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith played the entire second half of Sunday’s game. It marked the first time that a coach played the same five players for an entire half of a playoff in the play-by-play era.
“It wasn’t planned, but we just made the decision at halftime,” Redick explained.
There was some drama in the first half as well. James and Edwards were a bit physical, exchanging some shoves during play. Edwards admitted that he wanted to send a message.
“Just letting him know that we here. You ain’t just gonna push us around all night. Just trying to be a pest to him out there,” Edwards said. “He a lot stronger than me. So, letting him know we’re going to be here all night and I’m gonna be a pest on him.”
Edwards succeeded in doing that on Sunday. Now, he and the Timberwolves are 48 minutes away from securing a first-round upset over the Lakers because of it. They’ll get their first of three chances to end the series on Wednesday, when the Lakers host them for Game 5 in Los Angeles.
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