LOS ANGELES — Rui Hachimura got smacked in the face early in Game 2, and he headed to the Los Angeles Lakers' locker room with a bleeding nose. He was back on the court just one quarter later wearing a mask, which he discarded shortly afterward because it annoyed him.
The Lakers said they collectively got smacked in the mouth by the blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first-round series opener. Game 2 was all about their response — and LeBron James loved his team's tenacity.
Luka Doncic had 31 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, and the Lakers fought back to even their series with Minnesota with a 94-85 victory Tuesday night.
''We looked at what we didn't do so well, which is a lot of things in Game 1,'' said James, who scored 21 points and made a key steal in the fourth quarter. ''We took it to heart, held each other accountable and had a much better result.''
Game 3 is Friday night in Minneapolis.
Austin Reaves added 16 for the third-seeded Lakers, who jumped out to an early 22-point lead and hung on through a physical matchup with sixth-seeded Minnesota.
Los Angeles scored only 60 points in the final three quarters, but the Wolves never got closer than nine points. Coach JJ Redick was proud of his players' response — even if he had to unload on them in the fourth quarter during a profanity-laden timeout to maintain their focus down the stretch.
''I think tonight was just more about getting that urgency button switched back on,'' Redick said.
