The great LeBron and a sick Doncic can’t stop Cyclone Edwards
Ant-Man takes over the game and signs four and a half absolutely brilliant final minutes. While the focus in a series starring the Lakers is often on players like Luka Doncic and LeBron James, Anthony Edwards consistently commands his share of the spotlight. Whether through his gestures, his penalties, or, as in Game 3 of the series, his inexhaustible talent, which he unleashed on the Target Center to break down the Lakers’ resistance.
The Minnesota Timberwolves took Game 3 by beating the Los Angeles Lakers, 116-104, thus confirming for the moment the home court advantage they stole in the first duel in LA. They did so after reaching a tie in the final stretch of the game and unleashing a storm of play and points in the final four and a half minutes, which were blue.
Edwards combusts
The Lakers, with an extraordinary LeBron James author of 38 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, and a diminished Luka Doncic due to a stomach problem, who signed 17 points with 6 of 16 in the field goal (2/8 in triples), plus 8 assists and 7 rebounds, were surpassed by the 30 points of Jaden McDaniels, a personal best in some Playoffs, the 22 of a great Julius Randle, especially motivated by his ‘laker’ past and that catapulted a 56-26 in the paint for the Wolves, or Rudy Gobert, who did not shoot a single field goal, but was a defensive nightmare.
But above all, it was Anthony Edwards ‘ 29 points, which he confirmed he had been preparing specifically for this third game. Ant-Man ‘s final stretch was simply prodigious, one of those that will go down in the archives of great playoff performances.
The game was doomed to a nail-biting finish when Doncic tied the game at 103 with 4:37 remaining. But that was actually the turning point in the match. The Target Center, with a luxurious atmosphere for its debut in these Playoffs and not forgetting that Doncic blocked their way with Dallas last year, had already experienced a decisive moment that set it on fire: a steal by Edwards from Doncic (one of his five turnovers), which ended with a dunk over the Slovenian’s fruitless defensive attempt. It was with four minutes left in the third quarter. Ten minutes later, Minnesota would crush the Lakers.
After Doncic tied the game, Edwards took control of the game, leading his team to a fabulous 13-1 run, with no response from the shocked Lakers. The score went from 103-103 to 116-104 in four and a half minutes. Edwards led the run with seven of his team’s 13 points, but with a sense of superiority and control of the game that was truly frightening.
Ant-Man even allowed himself to make the three-pointer that sealed his team’s 114-104 victory with just over a minute left. He played his way until he wanted, and the Timberwolves are back ahead in the series. This Sunday at 9:30 p.m., the two teams are scheduled for the fourth battle… and it promises to be a game.
Luka’s illness
After the game, Lakers coach JJ Redick shed some light on how bad Doncic had been on the court with his stomach problem: ” He’s been really sick, very bad for the last 24 hours. I don’t know exactly how much sleep he got last night (before the game).”
Austin Reaves, who scored 20 points in the game, said of his teammate Luka: ” He gave it his all tonight. He played 39 or 40 minutes and did everything he could to help us. And we had our opportunities, but we didn’t take them.”
Jaden McDaniels, one of the big stars of the match, was in charge of defending Luka for much of the game: ” I didn’t realize he was going through something like a health issue, it didn’t seem like it .” Redick is optimistic about the future: ” I really hope Luka feels better this coming Sunday .”