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DiVincenzo takes elbow to face, Doncic appears to tweak back in physical Wolves-Lakers Game 5

It appears Doncic will return to the Wednesday's game in the second half.
Nolan O'Hara|
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo drives to the basket defended by Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Austin Reaves (15) in the third quarter during Game 4 of their first-round playoff series at Target Center in Minneapolis on April 27, 2025.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo drives to the basket defended by Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Austin Reaves (15) in the third quarter during Game 4 of their first-round playoff series at Target Center in Minneapolis on April 27, 2025. | Matt Blewett / Imagn Images

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Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo took an elbow to the face from Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves during a drive in the second quarter of Game 5 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Shortly after, Luka Doncic was shaken up after being fouled by DiVincenzo.

DiVincenzo never left the game, but the broadcast on TNT showed a close-up of him after taking the elbow, and his face appeared quite swollen around his left eye following the shot from Reaves, who was not called for a foul during the play.

Doncic took a shot from DiVincenzo and Rudy Gobert on a drive late in the second quarter and was very slow to get up. The foul was reviewed for a Flagrant, but stood as a common foul. Doncic, though, was quite slow to get up and appeared to be favoring his back. He shot the free throws, so he will be eligible to return to the game, but he subbed off with 1 minute remaining in the first half and exited to the locker room. Doncic started for the Lakers after halftime.

The Wolves, who have a 3-1 series lead, led 59-49 at the halftime break. They can close out the series with a victory.

The game was still in progress at the time of publication.

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Nolan O'Hara
NOLAN O'HARA

Nolan O'Hara covers all things Minnesota sports, primarily the Timberwolves, for Bring Me The News and Sports Illustrated's On SI network. He previously worked as a copy editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Hubbard School of Journalism. His work has appeared in the Pioneer Press, Ratchet & Wrench magazine, the Minnesota Daily and a number of local newspapers in Minnesota, among other publications.

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