LOS ANGELES — A raucous, roaring sellout crowd welcomed the Lakers back to the postseason on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. The fans turned the arena electric at times, no doubt imagining their voices igniting another of those extended playoff runs that once were spring rites of passage.
The short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves nearly spoiled the celebration, pushing the Lakers to the brink. The Lakers capitalized on the energy of their fans before it was too late and seized a 108-102 overtime victory that sent them into the first round of the playoffs as the Western Conference’s seventh-seeded team, something that seemed all but unattainable a few months ago.
The Lakers will play the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in a best-of-seven series, with Game 1 on Sunday at noon PT in Memphis.
The Lakers were 2-1 against the Grizzlies during the regular season, winning both games at Crypto.com Arena and losing once at FedExForum in Memphis. The Grizzlies will have home-court advantage for the first playoff series between the two franchises.
LeBron James called the Grizzlies “a really good team, very well-coached.” He then listed the strengths of their rotation players one by one in an extended analysis of the Lakers’ first-round opponent, pausing after several minutes to add, “Obviously, I haven’t thought about Memphis one minute.”
James was joking, of course.
No team in the three-year history of the play-in tournament has won a first-round series, so the odds were stacked against Tuesday’s winner. Neither the Lakers nor the Timberwolves played the kind of game that might lead anyone to think they could become the first to break through.
Minnesota was the better, more consistent, team for most of the game despite playing without two starters in their lineup. The Timberwolves led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter before the Lakers rallied behind Anthony Davis, James and backup guard Dennis Schröder.
“The crowd definitely got us back into it,” Davis said. “Having the crowd behind us, it was fun. This is what you dream about playing in Crypto, and just allowing the crowd to do their thing and getting the other team rattled and giving us a little more energy to go on runs.”
James’ 3-pointer with 2:02 left in regulation pulled the Lakers even at 95-all, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Neither team could break the tie in the closing seconds, turning over the ball repeatedly, until James passed to an open Schröder for a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left.
Davis then fouled Minnesota’s Mike Conley on a 3-point attempt and Conley made all three free throws with 0.1 remaining to send the game into overtime tied at 98-all. Davis – who led a defensive effort that held Minnesota to seven total points over the final 11 minutes of the game – paid the price for his aggressive defense of Conley, running at him from some distance and lumbering into him. Davis and James said they had a mix-up about who was supposed to defend the shooter in the corner.
“That was totally on me,” said Davis, who had 24 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots. “He faded out of bounds where I was going. But it goes back to next-play mentality, and we got it done in overtime.”
In overtime, James fed Rui Hachimura for a 3-pointer from the right wing and the Lakers took a quick 101-98 lead. Schröder’s layup on a give-and-go play with Davis made it 103-98 on the next possession, and the Lakers suddenly were in command with their largest lead of the game. Schröder iced the win with two free throws with 8.4 seconds left.
James led the Lakers with 30 points to go with 10 rebounds and six assists. Schröder had 21 points, going 3 for 4 from 3-point range and stepping up tremendously for D’Angelo Russell, who had a rough game against the team that traded him in February. Russell had eight assists but scored two points on 1-of-9 shooting before getting benched down the stretch.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for Minnesota and played with five fouls from the start of the fourth quarter on. Conley had 23 points and finished 6 for 8 from behind the arc.
The Timberwolves must win a second play-in game Friday against either the New Orleans Pelicans or Oklahoma City Thunder in order to advance as the eighth-seeded team and set up a first-round series against the top-seeded Denver Nuggets. The Pelicans and Thunder play Wednesday.
The Lakers were at something resembling full strength, apart from the nagging foot injuries James, Davis and Russell had battled in recent days and weeks. All three were in the starting lineup, however. Schröder (neck/Achilles) also was sound after sitting out the past two games.
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The Timberwolves were nowhere near full strength, however, and it was their own fault after they suspended center Rudy Gobert one game after he threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout in the second quarter of Sunday’s victory over the Pelicans that sent them to L.A.
In addition, Jaden McDaniels couldn’t play because of a broken right hand, suffered when he punched a wall in frustration during the Timberwolves’ victory over the Pelicans. He was fitted for a cast Monday and was said to be out indefinitely. Plus, Naz Reid was sidelined by a fractured wrist.
The Lakers outscored Minnesota 19-12 in the fourth quarter and 10-4 in OT.
“We expected a dogfight and they gave us one,” said Lakers coach Darvin Ham, whose team started the season 2-10 and sat six games below .500 at the trade deadline.
Davis, who played 43 minutes, sounded eager for a few days to recharge.
“It took everything out of us to get to where we are, and it took more out of us tonight,” Davis said. “But we’ve got a couple of days before we go to Memphis to start preparing for them. It’s been a battle. It’s been an up-and-down season for us, but now is the time to show who we are, and we showed it tonight.”