Reusse: Timberwolves-Lakers theme develops as NBA takes a day off from taking Anthony Edwards’ money

The Los Angeles Lakers played an ultra-soft version of hoops in Game 1 of this stretched-out NBA series and were embarrassed 117-95 on their home court last Saturday. The Timberwolves made 21 of 42 threes, primarily because the Lakers weren’t guarding them.

The word from the L.A. camp was that they would toughen up and make it much more of a physical battle over the remainder of the series.

You wondered if the Lakers actually had that in them, with LeBron James now 40, Luka Doncic with a reputation as a defensive imposter, and what appeared to be a thin roster.

The answer arrived Tuesday in the affirmative for the Lakers when they ground down the Wolves for an extra-ugly, series-evening 94-85 victory.

On Friday at Target Center, more shots were going in, but the Lakers did the heaviest bashing to take a 58-54 lead at halftime. LeBron muscled his way to 22 points in those first 20 minutes, looking still quick enough and stronger than any defender the home team had to offer.

And that lousy defense — well, the Lakers stayed close enough to turn the Wolves into 4-for-17 bricklayers on threes in the first half.

The Wolves never stopped LeBron, who finished with 38 points, but they more than doubled that three-pointer number in the second half and took a 116-104 victory.

Jaden McDaniels’ fantastic defensive work on Doncic kept things within reason, but this game started at 8:54 p.m. and was headed into the late evening before a rabid crowd that had the old building filled to the high back walls.

There was no evidence that the NBA would be in position to take another pile of money away from Wolves star Anthony Edwards due to disputes with the officials or byplay with a Lakers fan.

The latter occurred Tuesday in L.A., costing our guy Ant another $50,000.

The panel shows on ESPN and other outlets are dedicated to make-believe story lines. The commentators have no shame in beating those to a pulp. One of those favored in NBA discussions last spring and into summer was this:

Could Edwards be en route to being the new “Face of the NBA” — presumably because of the explosive dunks that garner a huge audience among youth who live for quick videos?

The panelists were looking to anoint a young star to follow in the sneakers of Michael Jordan, then Kobe Bryant and eventually James.

Those dunks, a Timberwolves playoff run and a presence on the Olympic team in Paris allowed Edwards to be a nominee in those time-killing TV debates.

What can be confirmed is Edwards’ exalted status with the NBA office is only when it comes to taking away players’ money with fines. And if there’s a Goody Two Shoes in the view of the league office, it has to be Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the star of the rampaging Oklahoma City Thunder.

The latest spycraft employed by the NBA involved an exchange with a mouthy fan behind the Timberwolves bench in Game 1 in Los Angeles. Edwards gave a little grief back, and of course, videos were being taken. Two days later — before the loss in Game 2 — the league notified him another $50,000 would be stolen from his bank account.

He had offered a profanity in addressing the customer. A naughty word in an NBA arena — the horror!

Edwards also has been fined amounts of $35,000 and $50,000 for slipping obscenities into postgame interviews, and $75,000 for criticizing the officials publicly. There were routine fines of $2,000 (or $5,000) for 16 technical fouls.

And when Edwards reached that number, he missed a $242,000 pay check for a one-game suspension.

Add it up, the NBA has stolen $514,000 from Edwards, tops in the league for simple behavioral issues and not drug or other violations.

By contrast, Gilgeous-Alexander has been assessed one technical with the automatic $2,000 fine. The treatment that SGA, the MVP-to-be for this season, gets from the referees has cost much more money to opposing coaches.

In late February, the Wolves rallied from a 25-point deficit in OKC and won 131-128 in overtime. After that game, Wolves coach Chris Finch mentioned the Thunder being allowed to play physical defense and “you can’t touch Shai” (Finch didn’t get fined).

J.B. Bickerstaff, ex-Gopher, wonderful fired-up coach of the turnaround Detroit Pistons, went on a postgame tirade about pro-Thunder, pro-Shai officiating in February that cost him a $100,000 fine.

On Thursday night, OKC and Gilgeous-Alexander came back from a 29-point deficit to win at Memphis and took a 3-0 lead in the series. That came after Memphis star Ja Morant was undercut by Lu Dort while flying toward the rim late in the first half. Morant landed on his hip, missed the rest of the game and will be out when the series ends in Game 4.

No fines involved, since no one cussed publicly.

Memo to NBA office: Edwards has reinvigorated a dreary franchise. He has drawn capacity crowds to downtown Minneapolis and absolutely had the place claustrophobic with insane energy Friday.

So, stop stealing his money.