CNN
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Luka Dončić powered the Los Angeles Lakers to a 94-85 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 on Tuesday to level their first-round playoff series at 1-1.
The Slovenian scored 14 of his game-high 31 points in the first quarter as the Lakers took a commanding 19-point lead heading into the second. Minnesota closed the gap to nine in the fourth but never looked like a serious threat to the Lakers’ advantage.
Dončić’s final stat line read 31 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and a block.
It was an All-Star performance from the 26-year-old, who already looks well on his way to reaching the same levels he displayed to dispatch the Timberwolves in last season’s Western Conference Finals when playing for the Dallas Mavericks.
LeBron James added 21 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, a steal and a block, with Austin Reaves chipping in 16 points, five rebounds and five assists.
“We looked at what we didn’t do so well, which is a lot of things in Game 1,” James told reporters, per the Associated Press. “We took it to heart, held each other accountable and had a much better result.
“We can still be better offensively,” he added. “I thought we had some great looks. If we continue to get looks like that, I trust our percentages.”
Reaves said the Lakers’ focus before the game was to “play harder” than they did in Game 1 and “match physicality with physicality.”
Julius Randle led the Timberwolves in scoring with 27 points, while Anthony Edwards – who received a $50,000 fine from the league for “directing inappropriate language and making an obscene gesture toward a fan” in Game 1 – had 25.
However, it was the drop-off from Minnesota’s role players that really hindered the team. Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid combined for 48 points on 19-of-25 shooting to help the T-Wolves stun the Lakers in the Game 1, as Minnesota’s bench outscored the Lakers’ subs by 30.
McDaniels and Reid managed just 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting between them in Game 2, while both also found themselves in foul trouble.
“We knew they would come with high intensity, with energy,” Randle said, per AP. “We knew it was going to be physical.
“We were stagnant, missed open looks, missed layups. They were just in a rhythm.”
The best-of-seven series now heads to Minnesota for Game 3 on Friday.