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Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers suffered a crushing defeat in Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. One controversial play that stood out involved Wolves forward Jaden McDaniels, and JJ Redick says it helped decide the game.
With about 35.4 seconds remaining in the game, Doncic fell to the ground while being defended by McDaniels in the backcourt, but near the half-court line. With only two seconds remaining to get the ball past half-court, the Lakers called one of their two timeouts to give them a chance to regroup. Only they didn't.
LeBron James turned it over on the inbounds pass, and the Wolves held on to win Game 4 and take a 3-1 series lead.
NBA confirms Lakers' JJ Redick, Luka Doncic's claims of crucial missed foul call on Jaden McDaniels
After Game 4, Lakers head coach JJ Redick immediately made note of the fact that the officials missed a foul by McDaniels for tripping Doncic while he was dribbling up the court. The replays of the incident showed an obvious trip that went uncalled.
“Luka got tripped,” Redick told reporters following the Game 4 loss. “That was a blatant trip. He doesn't just fall on his own. We should have been at the free-throw line. He got fouled.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick says the refs missed a ‘blatant trip’ down the stretch by Jaden McDaniels on Luka Doncic 😳
“Luka got tripped. That was a blatant trip. He doesn't just fall on his own. We should have been at the free throw line. He got fouled.”
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 27, 2025
According to the NBA's Last 2 Minute Report, Redick was indeed correct.
Luka Doncic was tripped by Jaden McDaniels and should've been awarded two free throws due to the Lakers being in the bonus, per the report. The Lakers were down one point at that point, so two free throws would've given them the lead.
“McDaniels (MIN) steps forward into Doncic's (LAL) path, initiating illegal foot contact that causes him to lose his balance,” the report posted Monday afternoon stated.
Luka Doncic got tripped, no call pic.twitter.com/BExKpTEd06
— Tedd Buddwell 🏀🏈 (@TedBuddy8) April 27, 2025
With the loss, the Los Angeles Lakers are now facing elimination, down 3-1 in the series as they head back home for Game 5. According to the history books, teams that lead a best-of-seven series 3-1 go on to win the series 95.5% of the time (275-13). Clearly the odds are not in the Lakers' favor, but they've played well in almost every quarter except for the fourth quarters.
The OC Register's Khobi Price reported after Game 4 that the Lakers have outscored the Timberwolves in the first quarters, 120-96, and in the third quarters, 115-112.
Unfortunately, the Timberwolves have outscored the Lakers in second quarters, 121-102, and are destroying them in fourth quarters, 105-69.
Game 5 is set to tip off at Wednesday night at 7PM PST on TNT.
