Luka Doncic (49 points) gets the Lakers back on track against the Wolves

The first information from this match arrives very quickly: Luka Dončić injured his left hand in the contact. He holds his fingers to several things before being tied up.

This doesn’t seem to bother him too much since he’s the one who gets the Lakers into the game. In contrast, Wolves start the right way, kicking quickly and well. The Slovenian enters a duel with Anthony Edwards. Individually, with 23 points in the first quarter against 14 for “Mrav”, he won, but lost collectively, with Minnesota dominating (36-40).

It has to be said that Los Angeles’ defense is giving the Wolves too many second chances. However, with some good sequences from Marcus Smart, Los Angeles is able to defend better. Anthony Edwards has less freedom and starts to dribble too much without making a difference.

JJ Redick’s troops regained control before the break, going on a 16-5 run to end the first half (68-63). The best of the Lakers was confirmed in the third quarter with the addition of more Luka Doncic, which highlights Deandre Ayton. The connection, on the pick-and-roll, between the two is good and the pivot weighs down the debates.

The Californians have the advantage and without the baskets of Julius Randle, the Wolves would have been much behind at the beginning of the last act (108-94). One thing is certain: Chris Finch and his players have no answer to Luka Doncic, who scores baskets with ease. The deficit increases to twenty points, and Rudy Gobert (uninspired, with 2 points and 7 rebounds in 28 minutes) and his gang do not react, they even conceded 14-3. Then the bench of Minnesota opens, to confirm the victory of Los Angeles (128-110).

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– More convincing Lakers. The first loss against the Warriors was emphatic boundaries in the game who were less visible in this reception of the Wolves. Not everything was perfect, but the offense was more fluid and the defense was tighter in the series. The symbol of this observation is the good game of Deandre Ayton, the author of 15 points and 8 rebounds.

– Luka Dončić’s fingers were burning. We could have feared that the incident in the first seconds, with this injury to his left hand, would hinder him. But if the Slovenian had fire in his hands, they were both worried. With 23 points in the first quarter, he kept his team in the game before taking control of the game. After 43 points against Golden State, he did even better: 49 points on 14/23 shooting, 11 rebounds and 8 assists!

– Anthony Edwards has passed away. With 14 points in the first quarter, the Minnesota guard kept pace with the prestigious opponent. Then his influence was less significant. So he certainly finished with 31 points on 11/19 shooting, making it impossible to say he missed his matchup. However, he dribbled a lot, sterilely and in the end did not have the expected impact on the match, afterwards his successful outing against Portland. He wasn’t alone: ​​The entire team seemed to lose the basketball as the minutes ticked by.

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