LeBron James led the Lakers to a 108-102 victory against the depleted Timberwolves in the NBA’s play-in game on Tuesday night, helping them secure the seventh berth in the Western Conference playoffs. After Davis foolishly fouled him on a 3-point attempt, Conley made three critical free throws to tie the game, but the Lakers calmly continued to play their way to their 10th victory overall in 12 games.
Photo Cred: LA Times
Their reward is a first-round matchup against the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, which begins on Sunday. Dennis Schroder led the Lakers, who started the season 2-10 and were six games under .500 at the trade deadline, with 21 points. He made a game-tying 3-pointer off a pass from LeBron James with 1.4 seconds left in regulation and sealed the victory with two free throws with 8.4 seconds left in overtime.
Photo Cred: ESPN
Minnesota made a strong attempt during the first three quarters while starting guards Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels were out, scoring 23 points thanks to Conley. Gobert was suspended for one game for hitting teammate Kyle Anderson in Minnesota’s final regular-season game against New Orleans, while McDaniels is out indefinitely with a fractured hand after punching a wall on Sunday out of frustration. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 24 points. The Timberwolves will play the Thunder on Friday for the eighth slot and a first-round matchup with top-seeded Denver beginning Sunday.
Photo Cred: NBA.com
