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9 hours ago
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With their Game 4 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Minnesota Timberwolves are one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals. It was a barn burner until the buzzer sounded.
The Timberwolves came away with the win, but with the Lakers with the ball down one with less than a minute to go, it appeared Lakers star Luka Doncic tripped over Jaden McDaniels’ foot in the game’s closing minute, but nothing was called. Lakers head coach JJ Redick called this out a non-call during his post-game press conference.
“Luka got tripped,” Redick said. “That was a blatant trip. He doesn't just fall on his own. We re-watched it. He gets tripped, so we should have been at the free throw line. That’s not an excuse for why we lost, but he got fouled.”
Had the foul been called, Doncic would have been put on the line with a chance to take the lead. Instead, on the following play, after taking a timeout, the Lakers turned the ball over on the inbound pass, which played a huge role in how the Timberwolves secured the win.
Those non-calls can decide games when the score is that close. At the same time, those aren’t the only factors in what decides a game. The Lakers were up 10 going into the fourth quarter, and simply blew it.
With the loss, Minnesota has the chance to hand the Lakers their second consecutive gentleman’s sweep in the playoffs. The Timberwolves have had the upper hand in this series, from their lopsided frontcourt advantage to Anthony Edwards matching up shot-for-shot with Doncic and LeBron James.
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If they put the Lakers away in Game 5, the Timberwolves also have the chance to avenge last season’s playoff loss to Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
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