MINNEAPOLIS — Exhausted, weary and frustrated, the Los Angeles Lakers are on the brink.
Elimination is staring them in the face, an unexpected development considering how well the LeBron James–Luka Dončić partnership has worked in a few short months.
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Elimination is staring them in the face because they couldn’t manage to scrape out one win on the road against a Minnesota Timberwolves team we can no longer describe as immature and unserious.
But most importantly, elimination is staring the Lakers in the face because Anthony Edwards pushed them there, because Edwards’ mental and physical stamina is greater than the two stars he stands across the way from.
The Lakers faltered down the stretch in their 116-113 Game 4 loss to the Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon, as Minnesota has taken a 3-1 series lead and can eliminate the Lakers with a win at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.
Edwards is on the verge of becoming the NBA’s giant slayer. He took down champions and MVPs in last year’s playoff run. The encore for sending Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokić home could be two more players he holds in the highest regard.
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“Luka’s probably the best player in the game — young player in the game and Bron is the best player leaving the game, so I’m just trying to prove I belong,” Edwards said.
One supposes James will leave the game eventually, but before he does, Edwards wants a piece — that the best respect he can show someone he called a mentor from their time as Olympians last summer is to put him out.
Edwards scored 16 of his 43 in the fourth quarter as the Timberwolves clawed back from a 10-point hole, beginning the proceedings with back-to-back triples. He finished with icy free throws, calm free throws, following a review that ruled James fouled Edwards on the hand on a drive with 10.5 seconds left.
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“Hand is part of the ball. I feel like the hand was a part of that ball,” James said. “I was able to get his hand on top of the ball. The ball stripped out and went out on him.”
The officials saw it differently.
“He’s swiping at the ball, he can’t get to it, you gotta hit my arm,” said Edwards, who also finished with nine rebounds and six assists.
Edwards wants his respect, as not just a top young player, but the guy — the standard. And who are we to deny him. There’s this glimmer in his eye when he talks, almost as if he knows a secret he’s not willing to share — but he knows it’ll be revealed in due time anyways.
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Due time could be Wednesday, or Friday, or even a week from now if this goes to a Game 7. Consider Edwards’ approach here, seeing those two across the way. It was clear the Lakers stars were going for it, and the temptation, the urge to match them shot-for-shot had to be yearning inside those 23-year-old bones.
Instead, he lulled them to sleep — almost like a black cat, one would say, before he pounced in the final period. He picked his spots, continuing his trend of facilitating without turning the ball over (six turnovers in four games), chased Dončić around, bodied up on James and yet had enough down the stretch to dominate.
The Lakers are one more Anthony Edwards explosion away from elimination from the playoffs. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
(Robert Gauthier via Getty Images)
He’s making sure Julius Randle stays engaged and doesn’t stray, pumping life into Jaden McDaniels and crediting teammates like Donte DiVincenzo for pointing out nuances he doesn’t often read in real time.
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But he sees it and is a quick study.
The biggest plays he made were when he gave it up, to DiVincenzo for a driving layup and 3-point play, then not forcing it against a triple-team with 42 seconds left, dishing a hockey assist that resulted in McDaniels having a 3-point play opportunity with his team down two.
These moments keep adding up, these random isolated instances keep going to the ledger — and it equals something.
“These are moments that we should live for, going on the road, trying to close the team out,” Edwards said looking ahead to Game 5. “It’s gonna be tough, gonna be a tough atmosphere, but it should be fun, if you like competing at the highest level.”
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And with the way the Lakers emptied their tanks, the fact Lakers head coach JJ Redick didn’t make a single substitution in the second half, lets you know how critical they saw this game. James played 46 minutes and 14 seconds, while Dončić, fully recovered from an illness that slowed him Friday, played 45 minutes and 49 seconds. James was limited to five points, five rebounds and five assists after halftime, finishing with 27, 12 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and three steals. Dončić scored 38, but added just two assists.
“We had some really good looks. Luka missed a point-blank layup to put us up seven. I missed a point-blank layup to put us up four,” James said. “We had a couple opportunities, I don’t think it was fatigue. We just missed shots.”
Such is life with James’ legs that Mike Conley — another senior citizen here — managed to recover from being pushed off by James on a look-ahead pass to block his shot from behind midway through the third quarter.
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“It’s the best block I’ve ever had. It’s probably the only one [on James], but I’ll take it,” said Conley, the 37-year-old who’s compiled 242 blocked shots in 1,172 games. “I’ll take a bum ankle over it, too.”
That pain was soothed in the win, similar to…
Vincent Goodwill
