Timberwolves 117, Lakers 95: 10 points about Game 1 in the NBA first-round playoff series

Wolves defending NBA Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid’s 17 first-half points off the bench Saturday moved the Wolves into a 27-point lead after they trailed by eight points early in Game 1 of their playoff series against the Lakers.

He went down hard early in the fourth quarter after former Wolves player Jarred Vanderbilt’s hand hit him in the face on Vanderbilt’s drive to the basket. Reid was face down for several moments, then went to the locker room, but he returned to finish the game with 23 points.

Those 17 first-half points were the most by a Wolves player in a half of a playoff game since Wally Szczerbiak scored 19 in the 2004 Western Conference finals against the Lakers. Reid’s play got his team out of that first-half hole and into a 70-48 lead after the Wolves scored the second half’s first 11 points.

Wolves All-Star Anthony Edwards went to the locker room with three minutes left in the third quarter after he drove into traffic, leapt and came down holding his left calf and foot. He immediately signaled for an athletic trainer with the Wolves leading by 23 points. And he re-entered the game with the Wolves leading by 14 with 11 minutes left.

He had 22 points, nine assists, four three-pointers and just one turnover.

Fans from both sides held their collective breath when Luka Doncic and Julius Randle collided violently midway through the third quarter as Randle leapt into Doncic in an attempt to block a pass.

The noise made was worse than the result. Both players remained in the game.

A Doncic heave from exactly halfcourt at the end of the third quarter banked off the backboard and caromed through for a three-point shot that gave the Lakers life. The three-pointer made it an 88-71 Wolves lead entering the fourth quarter.

Wolves reserve guard Donte DiVincenzo’s three-pointer from well beyond the line ended their comeback first half and sent the Wolves into halftime with a 59-48 lead.

The Wolves made a 26-6 run that started the second quarter and took them from trailing by as many as eight points into a 13-point lead, 37-24 midway through the quarter. They did it the same way the Lakers took the early lead, with second-chance points. Both teams had 11 of them early on.

LeBron James introduced himself in the playoffs to Wolves bench spark Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the second quarter. That’s when he caught Alexander-Walker from behind and blocked his layup at the rim by trapping it off the backboard.

On Thursday, Alexander-Walker, 26, was asked about his earlier memories of James, now 40 and in his 22nd NBA season.

“When he entered the league, I was 5 so as far as memories go it’s going to be very scarce,” he said. “I think it was in Cleveland and they played the Magic in the East finals. That’s when I was really heavily into basketball, thinking, ‘Game is over, he hit that shot.’ That’s my earliest memory. I was a fan of LeBron.”

Rudy Gobert and Randle weren’t in the lineup against Doncic, James and the Lakers the only time the two teams played with Doncic in a Lakers uniform. Doncic scored 21 points in 35 minutes on 6-for-20 shooting in a 111-102 loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles Feb. 27. James went for 33 and 17 that night. The Lakers acquired had Doncic three weeks earlier in a stunning, surprise trade with Dallas.

Three-point shooter Edwards put on a left-to-right crossover dribble that left Lakers power forward Rui Hachimura on his butt 20 feet from the basket midway through the first quarter. Edwards’ shot was blocked by Gabe Vincent as he tried to get to the rim.

The Lakers were 4.5-point favorites on the betting line, and ESPN Analytics gave them a 66 percent chance of winning the series.

Lakers second-chance points in a first quarter when Doncic scored 16 points and the Lakers led 28-21 by quarter’s end.

First-half personal fouls on Wolves big man Gobert, who picked up the third with more than five minutes to go in the second quarter and played less than 13 minutes before halftime. He had two points, six rebounds and a block in 24 minutes played.

Lakers run late in the third quarter pushed by James, whose drive the length of the court and layup brought the Lakers back to 88-71 with two minutes left in the third quarter.