Timberwolves eliminate Lakers behind Rudy Gobert's 27-24 game

LOS ANGELES -- After beating the third-seeded Lakers to advance to the second round of the playoffs Wednesday night, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards walked into his news conference yelling, "Ant-Man, Superman, Lakers in five."

Edwards was mocking those who had picked the Lakers to beat the Timberwolves in five games, something Minnesota accomplished Wednesday with a 103-96 series-clinching win on the Lakers' home floor. The win marked back-to-back first-round victories for the first time in Timberwolves history.

"What makes it feel even better is that they said 'Lakers in five,' and the Wolves won in five," Edwards said. "So I think that makes it feel 10 times better."

"It means a lot," he added. "I mean, we beat the best player in the world, the best player ever."

The Lakers, who were the favorites in this series, climbed to the third seed after trading for star guard Luka Doncic in February, elevating them to championship contenders. Ahead of the playoffs, the Lakers had the fourth-best odds to win the NBA Finals (+1300) while the sixth-seeded Timberwolves were ninth (+4000), according to ESPN BET.

Minnesota has not been shy about how its slim odds in this series galvanized the team. After the Timberwolves' Game 1 win, Edwards deadpanned: "The Lakers supposed to win. That's just how it's supposed to go. We're not supposed to be here."

On Tuesday, coach Chris Finch said the Timberwolves had been playing with added motivation and that the doubt worked in Minnesota's favor, admitting that the team plays better with a chip on its shoulder.

"We got a long way to go, we'll regroup, but we were certainly going to celebrate this because this team took a lot of s--- through the season," Finch said Wednesday.

The Timberwolves, who had been one of the NBA's best 3-point shooting teams in the regular season, won despite one of the worst shooting performances in NBA history.The Wolves finished 7-of-47 (14.9%) from beyond the arc, the worst 3-point percentage in a playoff game in NBA history (minimum 40 attempts). Minnesota missed 18 straight 3s between the second and fourth quarters, tied for the second-most consecutive missed 3s in a playoff win since at least 1998.

Edwards was 0-for-11 from 3-point range, tied for the most attempts without a make in a playoff game all time.

Amid the putrid shooting performance, however, was center Rudy Gobert, who buoyed the Timberwolves with one of the best performances of his 12-year career.

Gobert came into Wednesday with 14 points combined through the first four games. He exploded with a playoff career-high 27 points and 24 rebounds on 12-of-15 shooting, becoming the first player with 25 points, 20 rebounds and 80% shooting in a series-clinching win in NBA history.

"Rudy's a winner at the highest level. He drives winning," Finch said. "You can not like who he is, how he does it, what he looks like, et cetera. When you have this guy on your team, you understand what a professional and a winner is."

Gobert took advantage of the Lakers' small-ball lineup as he became the second Timberwolves player with a 20-point, 20-rebound playoff game, joining Kevin Garnett. Forward Julius Randle also kept Minnesota afloat Wednesday night, finishing with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Called a "dragon" by Edwards, Gobert said he had a feeling a game like Wednesday night's was on the horizon.

"Over the course of the series, I felt like it was getting harder and harder for them to keep me off the boards," Gobert said. "They had a lot of energy early on and throughout every game, I felt like. I mean, it was just hard for them to keep me off the boards. It's a lot of effort."

The Timberwolves will play the winner of the series between the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets and No. 7 seed Golden State Warriors. The Warriors lead that series 3-2, with Game 6 on Friday.

"We have a lot of guys that are underdogs," Gobert said. "Knowing this group of guys and knowing our mentality and how resilient we are individually and collectively, I never doubted this group."br/]