The Los Angeles Lakers got blown out by the Minnesota Timberwolves at home on Saturday in Game 1 of the 2025 playoffs, losing by 22 points.

After outscoring the Timberwolves 28-21 in the first quarter, the Lakers were outscored 38-20 in the second, 35-30 in the third and 23-17 in the fourth.

After winning 50 games in the regular season, Los Angeles secured the third seed in the West.

However, all that hard work went out the window in just one game, as the Timberwolves now have home-court advantage in the series.

Game 2 on Tuesday is a must-win contest for the Lakers, who can’t afford to go down 2-0 with Games 3 and 4 set to take place in Minnesota.

It will be interesting to see how Los Angeles players play in Game 2 after playing poorly in Game 1.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick, coaching in his first postseason, told local reporters on Monday that the team had their best practice in months.

The former NBA guard also said he and his staff have wondered if the players should have scrimmaged more with the week off going into Game 1. JJ Redick said in retrospect he and his coaching staff wonder if they should have scrimmaged more with the week off going into Game 1.

He said LAL had their best practice in months today and worked up a good lather — Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 21, 2025

The Lakers didn’t look sharp in Game 1 on either side of the ball against the Timberwolves, who hit 21 3-pointers. Rust may have played a role in Los Angeles’ struggles.

All five Lakers starters (Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, Jaxson Hayes) had a negative plus-minus.

Doncic had 37 points and eight rebounds, but he also had five turnovers in his first postseason games with Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, James and Reaves shot a combined 13-of-31 from the field. Game 2 is the biggest contest of the season for Redick and the Lakers. Let’s see how they respond after coming out flat in Game 1.