Wolves know they must fix slow starts against Lakers to win series

Two games into their first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Timberwolves have lost the first quarter by 26 points. They've won the next three by a combined 39 points. With the series tied at 1-1 as the teams prepare to head to Minneapolis for Game 3, fixing those slow starts will be key for the Wolves if they're going to advance to the second round.

In Game 1, the Lakers led by seven after the first quarter when the Timberwolves woke up, outscoring them by 29 points the rest of the way behind a barrage of three-pointers. In Game 2 on Tuesday night, the Lakers predictably came out of the gates with a ton of physicality and intensity. The Wolves struggled to execute on both ends of the floor and found themselves down 34-15 after the opening quarter.

Minnesota played fairly well over the final three quarters of a rough-and-tumble game that featured 46 foul calls, but the early deficit was too big to overcome. The Wolves never got closer than nine points, which was the final margin in a 94-85 loss.

"We just can't let them get off to a fast start," Anthony Edwards said. "I feel like that's the only thing with this team. They're looking forward to coming out and jumping on you early. Long as we hold them to not being down 18 points in the first quarter, we'll be alright."

The Timberwolves made just five of their 18 shots in the opening quarter of Game 2, including several misses near the rim. They also missed three free throws and turned the ball over four times. On the other end, Luka Doncic had his second straight 16-point first quarter as the Lakers shot 55 percent from the floor, hit four threes, and made all eight of their free throw attempts.

"I think I looked up at one point, if we would've made our free throws, it was a two-point game, and then make a couple layups, we're probably in the lead," head coach Chris Finch said.

Finch didn't believe it was an energy issue that led to the Wolves' slow start. They just didn't make the plays they needed to make to overcome the Lakers' physicality.

"I thought our energy was good early on," Finch said. "I thought guys were playing hard and they needed a second wind early. I mean, our execution was not good. (The Lakers) didn't really make a ton of tactical adjustments, they just were super physical. Holding on a lot of the screens, being aggressive and trying to jump out on a lot of screens and pressuring the ball a lot more."

One result of the game's style of play — and the way it was officiated — was that Donte DiVincenzo picked up three fouls in the opening quarter, limiting his minutes for the game. Naz Reid also committed three fouls in the first half. Those two, as well Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels, finished the game with at least four fouls. But the Lakers were called for more fouls (24 to 22) and the Wolves shot five more free throws (25 to 20), so officiating doesn't feel like a great excuse for Minnesota's sloppy performance.

They simply have to play better than they did in Game 2 — and specifically, in the first quarter. Coming out of the locker room ready to start fast will undoubtedly be a point of emphasis from Finch and his staff heading into Game 3 on Friday night at Target Center.

The encouraging thing for the Wolves is that they held the Lakers to 60 points in the final three quarters of the game. Even on a night where Minnesota played one of its worst offensive games of the season, the final margin was just nine.

"We did a good job responding after the first quarter," said Julius Randle, who scored a playoff-career-high 27 points. "We just kind of dug ourselves too deep of a hole."

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