Online Reporter
Rudy Gobert scored 27 points and grabbed 24 rebounds as the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 yesterday.Julius Randle put up 23 points as the sixth-seeded Timberwolves finished off a 4-1 first-round series win over the third-seeded Lakers.
The rebound total for Gobert was a Timberwolves postseason record and his personal career playoff high. "We knew we had to have it at some point in this series,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finchsaid of Gobert.
“He was awesome tonight just shedding defenders, nine offensive rebounds,super active on defense, finished extremely well when he had the opportunity. They became a little more active on the ball this game, and that released Rudy’s rolls (to the basket).”
The Timberwolves had a 54-37 rebounding advantage while advancing out of the first round for the second consecutive season after not getting that far over the previous 19 seasons.
They will face either the Houston Rockets or the Golden State Warriors in the next round. Luka Doncic put up 28 points and LeBron James added 22 for the Lakers, as the NBA’s newest dynamic duo saw its season come to an end. Doncic, who also had nine assists and seven rebounds, was limited in the second half after sustaining a back injury following a hard foul by DiVincenzo with 1:01 remaining before halftime. Rui Hachimura scored 23 points and Austin Reaves had 12 for Los Angeles, which went 20-17, including playoff games, after Doncic made his debut with the team on Feb. 10 following a trade from the Dallas Mavericks.
“We obviously put ourselves in a position to be in the game three times in the fourth quarter and just came up short every time,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. "The offensive part of it, tonight in particular, we missed wide-open 3s, we missed a couple of shots at the rim (in thefourth quarter). We got good looks.”
“I just told the guys, we didn’t shoot the ball well but I thought we were the tougher team mentally and physically. That’s when it showed itself,” Finch said.
“We were able to withstand the run. I told them after the (third) quarter, “After all that, we’re still up one. Let’s go win.”
Meanwhile, Fred VanVleet scored 14 of his game-high 26 points in a runaway first quarter, and Amen Thompson produced 25 points as the Houston Rockets surged to a 131-116 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of this Western Conference first-round series Wednesday.
The Warriors lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 with Game 6 set for tomorrow in San Francisco.— Reuters
