Rudy Gobert too much for small-ball Lakers, Timberwolves win 103-96 to take series 4-1, eliminate Lakers

LOS ANGELES — This was a series between two teams involved in the biggest trades of the season. Minnesota was largely vilified for trading away fan favorite Karl-Anthony for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in what was a trade about money. The Lakers were handed a gift by the Mavericks, trading for a top-five player in the NBA in Luka Doncic entering his prime, and they instantly became contenders.

It was clear over the last five games that Minnesota has figured out how to make its reconfigured roster work and how to play to its strengths. That starts with Anthony Edwards, who was the best player in this series — one also featuring Doncic and LeBron James.

Minnesota was the more physical team, the one that dominated the paint and the possession game. The Lakers didn’t have a playable center and leaned into a small-ball lineup the Timberwolves overwhelmed.

“This team took a lot of s*** through the season, and that was set against the backdrop of a really good run last year,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “But every team is different, and every team has to come together, and every team has to go through pain, and every team has to figure it out, and this team figured it out.”

Wednesday night they figured out how to win when their shots were not falling — Minnesota was 7-of-47 (14.9%) on 3-pointers — by getting inside and making plays at the rim. Rudy Gobert thrived in this style of game — he had nine offensive rebounds off all those misses — and finished with 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting, plus grabbing 24 rebounds.

That, along with another strong defensive outing, helped the Timberwolves win Game 5 103-96, and with that, they take the series 4-1.

Minnesota now goes home and gets to heal up and rest after a physical series. It will travel to face the winner of the Golden State vs. Houston series, with that second-round series starting on May 5 or 6 (depending on whether the Warriors close out the series in Game 6 on Friday).

The Lakers head into an offseason where they have the time to build out the roster around Doncic and (likely) LeBron, work on chemistry, and do the things they didn’t have time to do after the mid-season Doncic trade shook things up.

The playoffs put a magnifying glass on a team’s weaknesses and the Lakers’ were clear — this team needs a rim-protecting big who can be a vertical finisher. It’s the role Derrick Lively II played in Dallas alongside Doncic, the Lakers need to find their version of that player. The Lakers also need more perimeter defenders and shooting. When the Lakers find their footing next season, we shouldn’t all be asking “who is their fourth-best player?” Or fifth? Or…

The Lakers changed their defense up in Game 5 and blitzed Anthony Edwards a lot more, trying to get the ball out of his hands. To his credit, Ant made the right reads and threw the right passes, but the Timberwolves were ice cold shooting from the opening tip, so the Lakers never paid the price.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well, but I thought we were the tougher team, mentally and physically, and that’s when it showed itself,” Finch said.

Where the Lakers paid the price on the offensive glass — Minnesota’s size and physicality led to them getting the offensive rebound on 34% of their missed shots in Game 5. The result was the Timberwolves having 15 more true shot attempts — they dominated the possession game.

All that was too much for the Lakers to overcome with an offense that too rarely got on track in this series.

Doncic led the Lakers with 28 points, and a hot Rui Hachimura hit five 3-pointers on his way to 23 points. LeBron added 22 points on 9-of-21 shooting.

Randle may have been seen outside Minnesota as a downgrade at the four after the KAT trade, but he was brilliant in this series and had 23 points in the close-out game plus played strong defense.