After an unexpected 117–95 loss in the first game of the NBA playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Lakers responded on Tuesday night with a crucial 94–85 win to even the series. Luka Doncic played a key role in the result, while also matching a record set by Shaquille O’Neal.
Doncic delivered an outstanding performance Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena, posting 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists, leading the Lakers in all three categories. Three days earlier, even in a losing effort, he had been the team’s standout performer with 37 points and 8 rebounds.
Those numbers made Luka just the third player in Lakers history to score 30 or more points in his first two postseason games with the franchise. Before the Slovenian guard, the only others to accomplish the feat were George Mikan in 1949 (then with the Minneapolis Lakers) and Shaq O’Neal in 1997.
The two centers had different fates in those seasons. Mikan captured the BAA (Basketball Association of America) title in 1949, while O’Neal wasn’t as fortunate: the Lakers in 1997 advanced past the first round after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 3–1, but then fell to the Utah Jazz 4–1 in the Western Conference semifinals.
Shaquille O’Neal playing with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Doncic knows the Lakers have a tough challenge ahead
Tuesday night’s win leveled the series at 1–1, but the Lakers know they can’t afford to relax. The action now shifts to Target Center, where things could turn hostile. “They have amazing fans and they’re very loud. So from the first moment, you know they’re going to make some points, they’re going to make a run, but we got to stay together,” Doncic said after Game 2.
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Luka knows what he’s talking about—last year, he led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals, facing the Timberwolves along the way. “It’s us against the whole arena. So it’s going to be very tough. I experienced that and it wasn’t easy. So we got to stay together no matter what,” explained the Slovenian guard.
“Obviously not panic. Me and Bron, the leaders of the team, we got to keep the team together,” Doncic said about the mindset he and LeBron James need to maintain. “Like I said, going into Minnesota is going to be a war. The fans are going to be cheering like crazy. No matter what, we can’t panic; we got to stick together. That’s up to me and Bron to keep the team together.”
Doncic has fared well in Minnesota
Although Luka Doncic acknowledged that the atmosphere at Target Center was intense the last time he played a critical game there, he holds a positive memory of that experience. In the 2024 Western Conference Finals, the Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves 4–1—and made the biggest impact on the road in Minnesota.
There, Dallas proved resilient despite the intense crowd support. Doncic and Kyrie Irving led the team to two straight road wins to take a 2–0 lead back to Texas. After the teams split the next two games, they returned to Target Center, where the Mavs clinched a spot in the NBA Finals with a dominant 124–103 win behind Luka’s 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.
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