Anthony Edwards' late heroics lift Wolves over Lakers in Game 3

Anthony Edwards has already delivered his fair share of signature playoff moments, but the Minnesota Timberwolves star's closing performance in Game 3 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night at Target Center in Minneapolis was perhaps his best yet. And it brought Minnesota a 2-1 series lead.

Edwards hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with under five minutes remaining, found Naz Reid for another 3, beat LeBron James — who looked more like the 30-year-old version of himself than the 40-year-old — off the dribble for a layup to create some breathing room, then hit a dagger with just over a minute remaining in a 116-104 Wolves win. They closed on a 13-1 run.

"Our best closing effort of the year, no doubt. Both sides of the ball," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said.

Edwards was at the center of it as he answered every late Lakers run. James hit a trio of deep 3s as L.A. rallied from a late deficit and ultimately tied the game with 4 minutes, 37 seconds remaining. James looked every bit the greatest player on the court as he exploded for a game-high 38 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. But it still wasn't enough for the Lakers.

"(James) was incredible. He did everything he could in his power to try and will them to a win," said Edwards, who finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. "He was shooting it from Yucatan. He was shooting it crazy, for sure."

Edwards played the role of a finisher, but he hardly did it alone. Jaden McDaniels matched a career high with 30 points, and Julius Randle added 22 points, five rebounds and four assists. Both were aggressive in attacking the rim on a night the Wolves pummeled the Lakers for 56 points in the paint. How the Wolves were able to close it out, in Edwards' words:

"I got two words for you: Jaden McDaniels. It's just that simple," he said.

Finch had wanted to see his team play with more pace and buckle down on the defensive end in order to fix their slow starts from the previous two games, and like clockwork, the Wolves put together their best first quarter of the series. The pace was there early, and defensively, they held Lakers star Luka Doncic, who had started Games 1 and 2 red hot, to two points on 1-for-6 shooting in the first quarter. Minnesota led 32-26 after the opening frame and looked much sharper.

Doncic finished with 17 points, by far his lowest total of the series, but also tallied eight assists and seven rebounds. Finch noted postgame that Doncic may not have been feeling well, which is why he wasn't able to start in the third quarter. Still, Doncic played 40 minutes, and McDaniels, who guarded him most of the game, said he didn't notice his play falling off.

It was another incredibly physical game, something Finch noted on Thursday about the playoffs as a whole, saying he felt the league has been allowing too much physicality. The officials Friday night, led by crew chief Tony Brothers, carried along the trend of allowing significant contact, particularly early on when it appeared almost impossible to draw a foul.

Despite taking the six-point lead after one quarter of play, the Lakers went on a 13-2 run in the second quarter and ultimately battled back to take a 58-54 lead at the halftime break, though the Wolves quickly retook the lead in the third.

And despite many of their struggles in the clutch this season, the Wolves closed this one out and took a 2-1 series lead.