The Los Angeles Lakers had a golden opportunity to take control of their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 on Friday after they tied it with a win in Game 2. While they played well enough to win on Friday, they ended up shooting themselves in the foot, especially when it mattered most.
They shot 47.4% from the field and 42.5% from 3-point range, but they were beaten in several other facets of the game. It wasn’t quite the beatdown they suffered in Game 1, but it still hurt.
Los Angeles was outscored in the paint by an embarrassing 56-26 margin and on the fast break 21-11. However, its biggest deficiency came in the ball security department. It committed 19 turnovers, which led to 28 points for the Timberwolves, and that included multiple turnovers in its own backcourt that led to immediate baskets for the Timberwolves.
Still, the Lakers were in position to win this game in crunch time. Luka Doncic tied the score at 103 with 4:37 left in the fourth quarter, but from that point on, they were outscored 13-1, leading to a 116-104 defeat and a 1-2 series deficit. As was the case in Game 1, forward Jaden McDaniels killed them with 30 points on 13-of-22 field-goal shooting.
The pressure is now squarely on them to win Game 4, but if they do so, they will tie the series and regain home-court advantage. Game 4 will take place on Sunday afternoon, and both teams will have two full days off before Game 5 on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.
Rui Hachimura: C-minus
Through three games in this series, Hachimura hasn’t given the Lakers the type of production they need from him. He hit both of his shot attempts in the first quarter, but he was practically invisible from that point on. He shot 3-of-7 from the field, although he went 2-of-4 from 3-point range, giving him eight points, to go along with four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
Jaxson Hayes: D
It looks like perhaps head coach JJ Redick simply doesn’t trust Hayes much in this series. The Lakers’ starting center played just nine minutes and only contributed two points and one rebound.
Austin Reaves: C-plus
Reaves got the job done very well from the outside by going 5-of-11 from downtown. However, he had lots of trouble hitting shots in the paint and went just 7-of-18 overall from the field. He finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and he committed four turnovers.
Luka Doncic: C
Doncic was suffering from a stomach ailment on Friday, and he reportedly vomited all day, according to Redick. He made just six of his 16 shot attempts and two of his eight 3-point tries and scored just 17 points, and he had a team-high five turnovers. Doncic did help out in a positive way with eight assists, seven rebounds, one steal and one block in 40 minutes.
LeBron James: A
James did almost all he could to get the Lakers a win in this game. He scored 38 points on 13-of-21 overall shooting and 5-of-9 from downtown, and he also contributed 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks while committing only one turnover.
That one turnover, however, was costly, as it came in the Lakers’ own backcourt with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter and with them down by just one point. McDaniels stole the ball from James and instantly scored, depriving L.A. of an opportunity to take the lead.
Dorian Finney-Smith: B
Perhaps Finney-Smith didn’t do enough defensively, but he did make a decent contribution offensively. He shot 3-of-6 overall and 2-of-4 from downtown to score eight points, and he also chipped in two assists and one rebound in 29 minutes.
Gabe Vincent: B-minus
Vincent hit two of his three shot attempts and one of his two 3-point attempts to score five points, to go along with one rebound and one assist.
Jordan Goodwin: B-minus
Goodwin only went 1-of-3, but in 12 minutes, he contributed three points, two rebounds, one steal and one block and showed some good hustle. On one play in the second quarter, he smothered Anthony Edwards on a fast-break layup attempt and forced a jump ball.
Jarred Vanderbilt: B-plus
Vanderbilt greatly helped on the boards with five rebounds in just 13 minutes while also notching three points and one block.
Alex Len, Shake Milton, Bronny James, Dalton Knecht: Incomplete
All four players went scoreless in one minute of garbage time.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. lets Game 3 get away
The Los Angeles Lakers had a golden opportunity to take control of their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 on Friday after they tied it with a win in Game 2. While they played well enough to win on Friday, they ended up shooting themselves in the foot, especially when it mattered most.
They shot 47.4% from the field and 42.5% from 3-point range, but they were beaten in several other facets of the game. It wasn’t quite the beatdown they suffered in Game 1, but it still hurt.
Los Angeles was outscored in the paint by an embarrassing 56-26 margin and on the fast break 21-11. However, its biggest deficiency came in the ball security department. It committed 19 turnovers, which led to 28 points for the Timberwolves, and that included multiple turnovers in its own backcourt that led to immediate baskets for the Timberwolves.
Still, the Lakers were in position to win this game in crunch time. Luka Doncic tied the score at 103 with 4:37 left in the fourth quarter, but from that point on, they were outscored 13-1, leading to a 116-104 defeat and a 1-2 series deficit. As was the case in Game 1, forward Jaden McDaniels killed them with 30 points on 13-of-22 field-goal shooting.
The pressure is now squarely on them to win Game 4, but if they do so, they will tie the series and regain home-court advantage. Game 4 will take place on Sunday afternoon, and both teams will have two full days off before Game 5 on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.
Rui Hachimura: C-minus
Through three games in this series, Hachimura hasn’t given the Lakers the type of production they need from him. He hit both of his shot attempts in the first quarter, but he was practically invisible from that point on. He shot 3-of-7 from the field, although he went 2-of-4 from 3-point range, giving him eight points, to go along with four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
Jaxson Hayes: D
It looks like perhaps head coach JJ Redick simply doesn’t trust Hayes much in this series. The Lakers’ starting center played just nine minutes and only contributed two points and one rebound.
Austin Reaves: C-plus
Reaves got the job done very well from the outside by going 5-of-11 from downtown. However, he had lots of trouble hitting shots in the paint and went just 7-of-18 overall from the field. He finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and he committed four turnovers.
Luka Doncic: C
Doncic was suffering from a stomach ailment on Friday, and he reportedly vomited all day, according to Redick. He made just six of his 16 shot attempts and two of his eight 3-point tries and scored just 17 points, and he had a team-high five turnovers. Doncic did help out in a positive way with eight assists, seven rebounds, one steal and one block in 40 minutes.
LeBron James: A
James did almost all he could to get the Lakers a win in this game. He scored 38 points on 13-of-21 overall shooting and 5-of-9 from downtown, and he also contributed 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks while committing only one turnover.
That one turnover, however, was costly, as it came in the Lakers’ own backcourt with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter and with them down by just one point. McDaniels stole the ball from James and instantly scored, depriving L.A. of an opportunity to take the lead.
Dorian Finney-Smith: B
Perhaps Finney-Smith didn’t do enough defensively, but he did make a decent contribution offensively. He shot 3-of-6 overall and 2-of-4 from downtown to score eight points, and he also chipped in two assists and one rebound in 29 minutes.
Gabe Vincent: B-minus
Vincent hit two of his three shot attempts and one of his two 3-point attempts to score five points, to go along with one rebound and one assist.
Jordan Goodwin: B-minus
Goodwin only went 1-of-3, but in 12 minutes, he contributed three points, two rebounds, one steal and one block and showed some good hustle. On one play in the second quarter, he smothered Anthony Edwards on a fast-break layup attempt and forced a jump ball.
Jarred Vanderbilt: B-plus
Vanderbilt greatly helped on the boards with five rebounds in just 13 minutes while also notching three points and one block.
Alex Len, Shake Milton, Bronny James, Dalton Knecht: Incomplete
All four players went scoreless in one minute of garbage time.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. lets Game 3 get away
