Lakers fall to Timberwolves in Game 4
You have to win four games to win a series, but for the Lakers, this afternoon might as well have been a must-win. Los Angeles came into this game down 2-1 and needed a win to even the series against the Timberwolves.
In their last game against Minnesota, the Lakers couldn’t help but shoot themselves in the foot repeatedly. LA turned the ball over 16 times and fumbled at the end of the game, leading to their loss by 12. It didn’t help that Luka Doncic was under the weather with a stomach bug, either.
Regardless, Game 3 has passed, and today it was essential to stay alive by picking up a win.
Although the Lakers held the lead for much of the game, in Nuggets-esque fashion, we witnessed it dwindle and dwindle until eventually, the Timberwolves overtook them.
Luka back to Luka
Luka Doncic was clearly feeling much better today than he was on Friday night. During pregame shoot-around, his patented Luka smile was shining bright, and his everyday pregame antics were on display.
He was moving quicker on both sides of the floor, and his scoring was indeed back to normal.
Doncic’s return to himself was undoubtedly a welcome sight. He chipped in 38 points, but unfortunately, he was not able to get into the good graces of the officials tonight. There were many missed calls as he was aggressively hounded for bringing the ball up the court.
If the Lakers want to have any chance of a comeback, we will need to see pure, unadulterated Luka Doncic.
Poor officiating
You’re supposed to let the boys play in the playoffs. Today, and for much of the series, the refs just simply let too many calls go over the course of 48 minutes.
Horrible officiating all night.pic.twitter.com/HGPlgGVIRm https://t.co/kfqZP6Lmqf
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) April 27, 2025
From missed ‘kicked-ball’ violations to no calls seemingly every time Luka brought the ball up down the stretch, it was clear that the refs chose to swallow their whistles tonight. While yes, that is part of the playoffs, it can quickly become a detriment.
When you let too much go, the larger, more physical team instantly gets an advantage. It may sound funny hearing Lakers fans complain about officiating, but the last two games have been awful.
No Help from the other Lakers
This one issue has been one of the main problems in this entire series. Outside of Luka’s flu game and a couple of early feel-out games from LeBron, they’ve both been fantastic. The other Lakers on the team have yet to wake up.
Tonight, Rui Hachimura did play well, contributing 23 points, but it wasn’t enough today, and his play has not been enough to this point in the series. Similarly, Austin Reaves has been uncharacteristically poor and hesitant. He was able to contribute 17 second-half points today, but again, that was needed in the first half as well as Games 1 through 3.
While they’ve occasionally hit timely threes, other players like Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent have yet to contribute in meaningful ways. Jaxson Hayes has unfortunately also been played off the court. Their inability to play quality minutes led to the same five players having to play the entire second half.
The same 5 Lakers played the ENTIRE 2nd half https://t.co/YDuo6xP04e pic.twitter.com/b5pMt3vLyd
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) April 27, 2025
If the Lakers want any chance of coming back from a now 3-1 deficit, it will need to be a concerted effort from every single player on the roster. The team is back on Wednesday to try to keep their season alive.
