Cnn
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The NBA qualifiers officially overthrew with a list of four slicing games on Saturday.
In the night final, the Los Angeles Lakers fell to a strong defeat in front of their fans at home, losing 117-95 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in match 1 of their best seven series of the Western Conference.
The Lakers struck the break at halftime, down 59-48, and things only won while Minnesota jumped with a sequence of 11-0 in the third to extend the advance at 22. Anthony Edwards, who finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, burned the lakes with a 3-point pointer 27 points advance with just over five minutes in the third.
But the Lakers, triggered by their new superstar Luka Dončić, refused to go quietly. A race of 13-3 pushed them back into the fight, and Dončić sent the crowd to Crypto.com Arena in a frenzy, drilling a half-terrain buzz at the end of the third to reduce the deficit to 94-78.
Minnesota resisted the overvoltage of the Lakers, thwarting with a 12-2 race in the fourth quarter to close the hopes of return.
Jaden McDaniels led the Wolves with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Julius Randle added 16 points. The Timberwolves overturned a record franchise in 21 3 points qualifiers.
For the Lakers, Dončić finished with eight rebounds and a summit of 37 points – equaling George Mikan for the second highest transport during the start in the Laker qualifying series. LeBron James contributed 19 points to defeat.
“I’m not sure that we were physically ready, if that makes sense,” said the Lakers head coach, JJ Redick. “And really, when they started playing with a lot of thrust and physicity, we did not respond immediately to this, then it extends from the start of the second to four, five minutes to go to the third.
“We lost this section at 34, so it’s an eruption.”
The two teams will return to the court for match 2 on Tuesday, April 22.
Elsewhere, the New York Knicks amazed the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden, orchestrating a 21-0 race in the fourth quarter to erase an 11 point deficit and a seal match 1, 123-112.
Jalen Brunson scored a summit of 34 points, overcoming early shooting difficulties and a late fear of injuries to hand over to the pistons a consecutive defeat of the consecutive matches to the extent of the NBA.
Brunson started the first half by pulling 2 out of 13 on the field, but finished 12 for 27, including eight points in the shots. In the fourth quarter, the stars guard seemed to modify its right ankle several times, before going to the locker room to change your shoes
“Obviously, we did not finish the third trimester as we wanted, but there was never any doubt that we are just going to bed and not fighting,” said Brunson after the match. “We had to find a way to understand things and continue to fight and I mean, it turned quickly.”
The two teams will return to the court on Monday in New York.
It was a back and forth battle between the Nuggets of Denver and the Clippers of Los Angeles in match 1, the Nuggets escaping with a victory of 112-110 in overtime.
The Clippers took a 15-point lead in the first half, but the Nuggets fought and, in the last minutes of regulation, the teams exchanged the head back and forth.
None of the two teams was willing to give a thumb and, in the end, 48 minutes was not enough to adjust things.
In overtime, the decisive moment came from an improbable source of Christian Braun, who struck a pointer at 3 with a minute to put Denver at four years.
The annoying defense of the Russell Westbrook veteran has created a key turnover to allow Nuggets to freeze it from the Franc launchers line.
In the first match of the four game slate, the solid half-time of the Indiana Pacers gave the pace on the way to a 117-98 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
In a revenge match of the first round series of last year, the Pacers held an advance of 67-43 at halftime and never looked back to win the first round series of the Eastern Conference.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 25 points and seven rebounds, while Tyrese Haliburton added 10 points and 12 assists in victory.
For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 36 points and 12 rebounds in defeat. Milwaukee was without star guard Damian Lillard, who missed the competition with a deep venous thrombosis in his right calf. According to reports, Lillard could come back to play in match 2 or 3.
