The Minnesota Timberwolves turned it up late to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 on Friday, withstanding a vintage performance from LeBron James to take a 2-1 lead in their NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high of 30 points and Anthony Edwards added 29 for the Timberwolves, who closed the game on a 13-1 scoring run.
With Slovenian star Luka Doncic slowed by illness, James led the Lakers with 38 points — surpassing the playoff record for a player past his 40th birthday, the 32 points scored by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the NBA Finals in 1987.
The teams had split the first two games of the best-of-seven series in Los Angeles. The Timberwolves host game four on Sunday looking to take a 3-1 lead.
James added 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots, drilling a trio of three-pointers in the fourth quarter that helped the Lakers keep it close.
They tied it at 103-103 with 4:37 remaining on a basket by Doncic, who was battling a stomach ailment that Lakers coach JJ Redick said had him throwing up throughout the day.
Edwards responded with a three-pointer and Naz Reid followed with another. After driving for a layup Edwards blocked Rui Hachimura at the other end and after McDaniels pushed the lead to 116-104 with 39 seconds left Redick pulled his starters.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: David Berding/Getty Images
