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On Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers picked up a much-needed home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves to tie their first round series at one game apiece. The Lakers dominated this game essentially from the jump, playing much better defense than they showcased in Game 1 even though the offense still left a bit to be desired.
Despite the improved defense, Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards still found a way to generate a highlight in the third quarter when he dunked on Lakers big man Jaxson Hayes.
A perfectly timed camera angle caught Lakers star LeBron James' candid reaction to the dunk, which appeared to lean more in the direction of amazement than frustration at the conceded basket, per House of Highlights on Instagram.
Overall, though, the Lakers did a solid job on Edwards. In fact, in each of the first two games, Los Angeles' strategy of consistently double-teaming Edwards has kept the Ant Man from stuffing the stat sheet; however, on Tuesday, the Lakers were also able to do a much better job of containing the Timberwolves' supporting cast, which allowed them to cruise to a relatively easy win despite a rough offensive showing.
An intriguing series
The big question coming out of Game 1 was whether or not the Lakers' point of attack defenders–primarily Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic, who were targeted relentlessly by Minnesota in that game–would be able to hold up enough to stop the Timberwolves from generating consistent open looks from beyond the three-point line.
On Tuesday, the answer to that question was yes, as Los Angeles played a much more physical brand of defense. It also helped that several Timberwolves quickly got into foul trouble, including Naz Reid, who torched Los Angeles in Game 1 but picked up his fourth foul of Game 2 just a few minutes into the second quarter.
Despite the good vibes, the Timberwolves still did what they set out to do by stealing home court advantage from the Lakers. The two teams are set to resume their series on Friday evening from Minnesota for Game 3, which is slated to tip off at 9:30 PM ET.
