The Los Angeles Lakers were fighting for their playoff lives. They hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series, trailing three games to one. In a tightly contested game in the fourth quarter, things took a turn for the worse for the Lakers.

LeBron James was forced to leave the court with what appeared to be a knee injury. He and Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo collided, sending the future Hall of Famer to the deck hard.

After spending a couple of minutes on the floor, James got to his feet with help from his teammates. However, he hobbled his way to the bench.

It was the last things Lakers fans wanted to see. Los Angeles' other superstar, Luka Doncic, was already banged up in Game 5.

Doncic took a hard hit, ironically from DiVincenzo, late in the first half. The Slovenian star reached for his back after hitting the ground, and was helped to the locker room with one minute to go before halftime.

Luckily for Los Angeles fans, both LeBron and Doncic did not miss much time.

Doncic came out of the tunnel after his team took the court to start the second half. Despite clearly not feeling 100%, he has toughed through it and played most of the second half.

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Meanwhile, James did not miss much time at all. He returned to the game following a tv timeout.

But it did not end up making a difference.

LeBron James struggled mightily down the stretch once again. He scored just three points in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with 22 points on 9-for-21 shooting.

Doncic was not much better. He finished with 28 points on an equally inefficient 7-for-18 from the floor as Los Angeles lost 103-96.

But this game and series was ultimately all about the Lakers' lack of depth. That was put to the forefront in both Game 4 and 5. All the while, the Timberwolves showed off their flexibility.

In the series-clinching win, Rudy Gobert dropped 27 points and 24 rebounds.