The Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves will take to the court for Game Two of their playoff first-round series at Crypto.com Arena.
One of only two sides to have lost Game One at home, the Lakers will head out on Wednesday aiming to restore parity against their visitors, who will be confident of causing another upset.
Match preview
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Following their acquisition of Luka Doncic in a blockbuster trade in February, the Los Angeles Lakers significantly improved their championship odds in the eyes of many as they finished third in the Western Conference, setting up a best-of-seven series against the TWolves.
With home court advantage on their side, JJ Redick's men sought a winning start to proceedings in Sunday's first meeting and looked to be on the right path, having led by seven points after the first 12 minutes of play.
However, what followed was a shambolic display over the subsequent three quarters in which the Lakers were outscored by 29 points and trailed by 27 at some stage before cutting down the margin to 22 in a 117-95 defeat.
Making his playoff debut in the famed Purple-and-Gold jersey, Doncic tallied an impressive 37 points on 12-22 shooting to go along with eight rebounds but was the only Laker to hit the 20-point mark.
Despite a +6 differential at the free throw line, the Lakers were unable to cope with their opponents' offensive output, largely due to the teams' success from beyond the arc as the hosts knocked down six fewer three-pointers in just one less attempt than their visitors' 42.
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Having been in danger of missing out on an automatic playoff spot heading into the final knockings of the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves won eight of their closing nine matches to clinch the number six seed in the West.
Unbeaten in matches against fellow Western Conference sides since March 20, Chris Finch's men were unfazed by the challenge of taking on the Lakers after a 2-2 record across four regular-season outings.
Jaden McDaniels (25) and Naz Reid (23) combined for 48 points to provide the majority of the offensive spark for the Timberwolves on a night Anthony Edwards also put up 22 points, albeit on a rough 8-22 shooting from the field.
On an otherwise perfect outing for the Timberwolves, perhaps the only cause for concern going forward was the number of fouls committed, which stood at 21—11 fewer than the Lakers' tally of 10 over the 48 minutes of action.
Wednesday's visitors swept the Phoenix Suns at this stage last season en route to the conference finals, and a victory in their upcoming affair would put them halfway through making a huge statement of intent against another star-studded outfit.
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Team News
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Maxi Kleber is still yet to make his debut for the Lakers due to a foot issue, but the German international should be back at some point during the playoffs.
Jarred Vanderbilt returned to action for the home side against his former employers last time out and could be handed a start here given how underwhelming Jaxson Hayes performed.
Rob Dillingham is the Timberwolves' only injury concern for Wednesday's encounter, as the 20-year-old sat out a second straight game with an ankle problem on Sunday.
Going up against the team that drafted him back into the league in 2014, Julius Randle will be looking to build on his 16-point, five-rebound and five-assist outing in Game One.
Los Angeles Lakers possible starting five:
Doncic, Reaves; Hachimura, James; Vanderbilt
Minnesota Timberwolves possible starting five:
Conley, Edwards; McDaniels, Randle; Gobert
We say: Lakers to win by 6+ points
The onus is more on the Lakers to put Sunday's horror show behind them and level the series before it returns to Minnesota.
We expect the visitors to push their hosts all the way, albeit all to no avail come the sound of the final buzzer.
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