The Minnesota Timberwolves stole home-court advantage away from the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, and Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards let his opponents, but particularly, Luka Doncic know it.

During the 117-95 win Saturday, Edwards taunted Doncic after hitting a 3-pointer over the Lakers guard. While backpedaling down the court following the shot, Edwards taunted Doncic by directing his 3-point celebration at the Slovenian star. The hand gesture, which was captured beautifully by Getty's Ronald Martinez, seemingly caught the attention of Doncic, which could make the rest of the series all the more interesting.

 

While some on social media have cautioned Edwards from taunting Doncic, a player notorious for rising in the playoffs, Edwards had every right to celebrate after a strong Game 1. The young superstar did a little bit of everything Saturday, recording 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists as his Minnesota teammates showed out.

In particular, Jaden McDaniels exploded for 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting (3-of-3 from beyond the arc). Naz Reid also had 23 points after draining six triples. As a team, the Timberwolves shot 51.2% from the field and 50% on 3-pointers, something that could not be said for the Lakers.

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Despite Doncic finishing with a game-high 37 points, the Crypto.com Arena crowd was stunned into relative silence after poor showings by LeBron James and Austin Reaves, the only two players besides Doncic to score 10 or more points for the Lakers on Saturday.

James, who began Game 1 very slowly, finished with 19 points and missed all but one of his five 3-point attempts. Similarly, Reaves scored 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Outside of the Doncic-James-Reaves trio, the Lakers scored 23 points while shooting 26.7% from the field and 33.3% on 3-pointers.

The Timberwolves will look to sweep the first two games in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Last season, Minnesota swept the Phoenix Suns by dominating the opening pair of games in Minneapolis before taking both games in Phoenix.

While a sweep of the Lakers, the higher seed, would be a surprise, the Timberwolves would seem to have the team to do it. With Edwards' two-way ability and athleticism, the defensive versatility of most of its lineup, as well as the interior force of Rudy Gobert, Minnesota could become the first team to sweep the Luka-LeBron Lakers.