Timberwolves-Lakers Game 5: Referee assignments, injury reports, TV info

The Wolves are looking to close out LeBron James and the Lakers on Wednesday night in LA.

Apr 22, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) goes to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith (17) during the first quarter of game two of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves take a 3-1 series lead into tonight's Game 5 against LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in LA. The Wolves will look to close out the Lakers in this one and avoid needing a Game 6 back in Minnesota on Friday night.

With their season on the line and the benefit of home-court advantage, the Lakers are the betting favorites to win Game 5 and extend their season. Let's take a look at some relevant details ahead of this game.

Referee assignments

John Goble will be the crew chief for Wednesday's game. Joining him are referee James Williams and umpire Ray Acosta, with Tre Maddox as the alternate on hand.

During the regular season, the Wolves were 2-3 in games with Goble among the crew. Opponents averaged 118.3 points (in regulation) against Minnesota in those contests, which is the highest total for any opponent among refs who worked at least three Wolves games. During the regular season, Goble was among the more whistle-happy refs in the NBA.

The Wolves were 4-2 this season in games called by Acosta. He was the ref who controversially called Anthony Edwards for his 18th technical foul in the penultimate game of the season, which was later overturned by the NBA, allowing Edwards to play against Utah in the finale. They were 1-3 in games called by Williams, who called more techs than any other referee in the regular season.

Injury reports

The Lakers could potentially get a boost in the form of veteran forward Maxi Kleber, who is listed as questionable to play in Game 5 after missing the first four games of the series with a foot injury. He hasn't played since January 25, which was before he came over to LA in the Doncic-Anthony Davis trade. There may be some rust if Kleber does make his Lakers debut, but his size, defense, and floor-spacing ability could be useful for J.J. Redick, who has gotten very little production outside of his top five players in this series.

The Timberwolves have once again ruled out rookie Rob Dillingham (ankle), who wasn't in their rotation when healthy.

TV information

Tonight's game is set for a 9:00 p.m. CT start on TNT, truTV, and Max. It's a true doubleheader that will follow Game 5 of the Warriors-Rockets series, so look for the actual start time to be more like 9:15 or somewhere in that ballpark.

One quote

Naz Reid on being up 3-1, via Alan Horton: "This is the playoffs, anything can happen. And if somebody can do it, it's LeBron. So we gotta step on their throats and understand that they're not just gonna roll over. It could be the last one, but it's gonna be the toughest one."