LOS ANGELES — The Minnesota Timberwolves spent Game 5 in a dismal shooting funk, providing the Los Angeles Lakers with ample opportunity to stave off playoff elimination.
While his teammates struggled, Rudy Gobert stepped up against the small-ball Lakers — and on their big man's shoulders, the Wolves are going all the way back to the second round.
Gobert had playoff career highs with 27 points and 24 rebounds, Julius Randle added 23 points and Minnesota advanced in the NBA playoffs with a clinching 103-96 victory in their first-round series Wednesday night.
Gobert stepped up when the Lakers deployed a centerless lineup, scoring more points than he managed in the series' first four games combined. The Lakers also struggled defensively against Gobert, who dominated stretches on both ends.
''Feels great, but not vindication,'' Gobert said. ''It's not about beating a specific person. It's about a championship, and we've got a little bit more work to do before that.''
With Gobert running amok in the paint, Minnesota won Game 5 despite going 7 for 47 on 3-point attempts, including 17 consecutive misses between the middle of the second quarter and Mike Conley's dagger 3 with 1:22 to play.
''We didn't shoot the ball well, but I thought we were the tougher team mentally and physically,'' Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. ''That's when it showed itself. We knew we'd been good in fourth quarters against this team all series. We just needed to see a couple of shots go down opportunistically. Guys did a great job surviving the emotions of the game, which was always going to be a tough game.''
Anthony Edwards had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Wolves, who won three straight games to eliminate LeBron James and Luka Doncic from their first postseason together.
