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The Los Angeles Lakers are fighting to keep their season alive on Wednesday night in Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the first half didn't go according to plan. The Lakers were able to recover from a big deficit in the first quarter, but they still trail the Wolves 59-49 at halftime.
Late in the first half, things went from bad to worse for JJ Redick's squad. Star guard Luka Doncic drove into the lane and was fouled hard by Donte DiVincenzo on a layup attempt. The foul was ruled to be a clean, common foul after a review, but Doncic came up holding his back and walking very gingerly.
Luka Doncic heading to the locker room as he was holding his lower back 🙏
(via @MirjamSwanson)pic.twitter.com/phyU1Awe9K
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 1, 2025
Doncic made both free throws and immediately checked out and went to the locker room with just over a minute left in the half.
The former Mavericks star has taken a lot of heat during this series for his defense, but the Lakers still absolutely need him on the floor and operating at full capacity if they are going to come back and win not only this game, but a potential Game 6 and Game 7 if they can get that far. Doncic's ability to be an elite scorer and distributor unlocks the rest of this Lakers offense and it will be hard for them to score on a great Timberwolves defense without him.
Doncic did come out of the locker room at halftime with a heating pad on his back just before the start of play and entered the game. However, he is still moving pretty gingerly, so it will be worth monitoring how that affects the game especially when the Lakers are on defense.
Even before the injury, Game 5 had not been Doncic's best game. In the first half, the Slovenian superstar scored just 12 points with five rebounds and four assists. If Los Angeles wants to come back to win, they will need much more than that from Doncic in the second half even if he is playing at less than 100%.
