Lakers stunned in Game 1 as Timberwolves catch fire from three in 117-95 blowout victory over L.A.

The banners hung high. The building buzzed with playoff electricity. Luka Dončić looked like a man ready to author his first legendary postseason chapter in purple and gold. For the first eight minutes of Game 1, it felt like a storm was brewing inside Crypto.com Arena — but no one saw the tornado that was about to touch down a few minutes later. 

The Los Angeles Lakers opened their postseason campaign with fire, fury, and the full weight of a city behind them. Dončić came out blazing — scoring the game’s first six points, swishing a contested triple in front of Minnesota’s bench like it was just another Tuesday night. He poured in 14 points in just eight minutes. The Timberwolves were sputtering, turning the ball over with the nervous energy of a team not quite ready for the stage. A 15-7 lead. Then 20-12. Showtime looked alive, the Lakers had delivered the first blow.

But then, the curtain fell. And the knockout punch was delivered. 

It didn’t come from the Lakers, it was the Timberwolves who stepped on the brightest stage and acted like they owned the building. 

What followed was a second-quarter ambush that turned a hopeful Hollywood script into a horror show. Minnesota caught fire from deep — like gasoline meeting flame — and ripped off a 38-20 second quarter that flipped the game on its head. 

Jaden McDaniels, the soft-spoken x-factor whose name buzzed quietly before the series, became a microphone drop. He scored seven early in that pivotal frame and finished with a game-high 25 points on a near-perfect shooting night (11-for-13 from the field and 3-for-3 from three). He didn’t just show up — he took over.

LeBron James, scoreless through the first quarter, finally got on the board midway through the second, but the Lakers had already gone ice cold. Minnesota hit the gas — a 26-6 run slammed the brakes on any momentum Los Angeles built. A deep triple at the halftime buzzer from Donte DiVincenzo over Austin Reaves felt like a final dagger to the soul — not because it sealed the game, but because it showed Minnesota wasn’t going anywhere.

And in the third quarter, the Wolves made sure of it.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Minnesota opened the second half with an 11-0 blitz, burying three consecutive threes — McDaniels, Julius Randle, then Anthony Edwards — that stretched the lead to 27 in the blink of an eye. The scoreboard read 70-48, but it felt worse than that. It felt like the Lakers were drowning.

By the time Luka Dončić hit a halfcourt heave at the third-quarter buzzer to cut it to 16, the Lakers had already used up too many of their nine lives. His shot gave a flicker of hope — and that flicker caught flame for a moment in the fourth, where the Lakers clawed to within 12 — but Minnesota refused to fold.

Anthony Edwards, quiet by his standards, still dropped 22 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists, all while committing just one turnover. Naz Reid, the Lakers kryptonite, chipped in 20 off the bench, including five triples that sent shockwaves through the L.A. defense. 

Minnesota hit 21 threes in total, a new franchise record, and shot a jaw-dropping 50% from distance. The Lakers made 15 threes, shooting 36% — not bad — but it felt like paper cuts in a gunfight. The six more threes made by Minnesota was an 18-point difference in a game the Timberwolves won by 22.

Luka finished with 37 points in the loss, three of them coming on the kind of shot that turns legends into myths. But even his brilliance couldn’t bail out a team overwhelmed by Minnesota’s spacing, shooting, and relentless energy.

With just over three minutes left, Lakers head coach J.J. Redick threw in the towel. The starters sat. The bench emptied. And Crypto.com Arena emptied with them, stunned into silence by a Timberwolves team that didn’t just win — they announced themselves.

Final score: Timberwolves 117, Lakers 94.

Game 1 was a wake-up call — not just for the Lakers, but for the rest of the league. This isn’t the same old Minnesota team. They’re deep. They’re fearless. And when their threes are falling like this?

They’re dangerous.