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As LeBron James got out of Lakers‘The Black Coachment and Black Dukserica locker room after the match of the 2 first -team first -team series against Minnesota on Tuesday, a member of the staff teased him to be dressed more casual than usual.
James laughed.
Then he joked that he predicted that he would be exhausted, so he should dress comfortably.
James was well aware that, in order to decline from the Lakers 0-1 deficit, he had to force every ounce of his energy to fight against Teber‘Front line 7-nog-1 Rudy Gobert6-9 Jaden McDaniels and 6-9 Julius RandleHelping a la team surpassed by size and power is not surpassed in physicality.
The Lakers responded to their rupture of 22 points in the game 1 leading as many as 22 points in the game 2 on the way to a 94-85 winsbinding the series to 1-1. They came prepared for this rock struggle after they had previously appeared with only sand in their fists.
If you looked carefully, there were signs that things would be different.
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Before the match 1, Lakers coach JJ Redick was atypically stiff and serious as he talked to the media. Before the match 2 he was relaxed.
Before the match 1, Redick complained that he no longer used a team of team to reject more. Before the match 2, the Lakers had a bruise. Said Redick: “The best practice we have had in the months. James added:” One of the best practice we had all year long. “
And finally, James peeked us into his thinking before play 2, publishing the latest episode of his undercar “Mind the Game”. He called the playoffs a drug, alluding to the intoxicating joy that comes from playing for a team he believes he has a chance to win.
Do you think the guy who took 10 teams in the NBA final, winning four championships, letting his team down 0-2 at home with a chance for the fifth ring on the line?
Things were different from advice.
The Lakers were not stunned by the rush and running of the great men Timberwolves. Instead, they were aggressors. They started contact. They were frustrating Anthony Edwards and CO. They were overwhelmed. Teams combined for 46 personal offenses at the time of the year when the judges hesitant to blow whistles.
“It doesn’t matter if you lose up to 100 or lose for 1,” said James, who had 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. “Both are sick. You can’t sleep. So it’s how you stay even and how you perform adjustments.”
This time, the Lakers defended themselves in defense, holding Timberwolves until only 5-for-25 shots outside the arch, after allowing Minnesota to set a franchise post-season record by making a 21-rice-42 from a 3 point line in Game 1.
This time they rushed to defense, holding Timberwolves on just six points of a quick interruption after Minnesota exploded 25 points in her serial debut.
This time, they were hopping, surpassing Timberwolves 41-34 after Minnesota got the best of them on the boards in the opener, 44-38.
For Reaves and the rest of the Lakers, the game 2 was personal.
“I think it comes back to the second night when we were basically hit,” said Reaves, who had 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. “Call the blade. They come here, play 1 and hit us. From the energy in the locker room after the game you could say that no one worried about what we have. We had to go out and compete with each individual estate.”
For the Lakers, everyone tried to do their part to make sure that this game does not move away from them, which would undoubtedly put their season for life support.
Rui hachimura I didn’t come back after hitting his face in the first quarter. He returned with a face mask and continued to mix things at both ends of the field. “He played like a warrior tonight,” Redick said.
Redick did not hesitate to be a bad guy when Lakers reduced the lead to 11 points, and the third quarter remained 7:40. He called a time limit and put it in his team.
“What f- happens?” Redick could be heard talking about tnt broadcasting. “What f- do you do? Come on!”
He dropped the Lakers out of their current fog.
“That’s JJ,” James said. “At this point, for us, obviously, we have to listen to the message, not how it delivers it. For me, the high school coach my first year was somehow in the same way. I would save us. You must be able to realize that it is not about what it is saying, but what he is saying. I thought we answered after that.”
And James did not blink his eyes when the leadership of Lakers reduced nine points in the fourth quarter. Instead, he stole the ball from Edwards with a left 2:40 and made a run, sealing the Lakers’ victory.
“Made the winning game” Luka Doncic said.
As for Doncic, he continued to show why he shines in postseason, ending with a high 31 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists after he had 37 points and eight rebounds in Game 1.
The difference this time was Doncic help.
After match 1, Pundits wondered if the Lakers had exceeded Timberwolves too much to compete in this series.
In Game 2, the Lakers silenced that narrative.
James needed a huge amount of effort. But he came prepared for that occasion, and mentally, physically with appropriate clothes.
Melissa Rohlin is NBA writer for Fox Sports. Earlier covered the league for Sports Illustrated, Los Angeles Times, News Group for Bay Area and San Antonio Express-nws. Follow her on Twitter @Melisarohlin.
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