Who's officiating Game 1 of first-round series between Timberwolves, Lakers?

Minnesota did pretty well in the playoffs when Saturday's crew chief officiated its games last postseason.

NBA referee Marc Davis talks to Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards during the second quarter in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center in Minneapolis on May 30, 2024. | Bruce Kluckhohn / Imagn Images

Marc Davis is the crew chief for Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers, which is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. CT tipoff Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Davis heads the officiating crew, which features Tyler Ford as the other official, Brian Forte as the umpire and John Butler as an alternate. Davis crews have historically been good news for the Wolves; he officiated Games 2 and 6 of Minnesota's Western Conference semifinal series against the Denver Nuggets last season, both games the Wolves won convincingly.

The NBA narrows down the officiating pool for the postseason, selecting 36 referees to work in the first round and the play-in tournament. That includes Davis, Ford, Forte and Butler. Sixteen of the officials working the first round have reffed 50 or more playoff games, and Davis has officiated the second-most playoff games of all referees, 204 entering Saturday.

Eight others have officiated 100 or more playoff games in their careers: Scott Foster (255), Tony Brothers (201), James Capers (189), Zach Zarba (159), Bill Kennedy (151), Ed Malloy (143), John Goble (139) and David Guthrie (110).

The officials chosen to work the playoffs are based on NBA Referee Operations grades and rankings, play-calling accuracy and team rankings. Referees chosen for the following rounds will be based on performance in the first round.

Davis, Ford and Forte will take the court with the Wolves and Lakers at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.