RUDY Gobert feasted inside as Minnesota Timberwolves ousted Los Angeles Lakers with a 103-96 Game 5 victory in the NBA Western Conference first round series on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
The former NBA Defensive Player of the Year tallied a double-double of 27 points and 24 rebounds as the Timberwolves closed out the series, 4-1, to reach the West semis.
Julius Randle added 23 points, Anthony Edwards had a near triple-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker came off the bench to deliver 10 markers.
With the Lakers opting for a center-less lineup, the Timberwolves took advantage with Gobert scoring from inside to quickly jump to a 31-22 lead before widening it to 59-49 at the half.
The Lakers responded with their run in the second half to take an 88-87 lead, but the Timberwolves responded with inside hits from Randle, Gobert, and Edwards, and a triple from Mike Conley to seal the win.
Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 28 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds, Rui Hachimura added 23 markers, while LeBron James and Austin Reaves had 22 and 15 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, Houston Rockets leaned on a strong first half surge to run away with a 131-116 victory over Golden State Warriors in Game 5 to extend their first round series to another game.
Fred VanVleet scored 14 of his game-high 26 points in the first quarter, while Amen Thompson produced 25 points, six rebounds, five steals, and three blocks as the Rockets trimmed their best-of-seven series deficit to 2-3.
Dillon Brooks tallied 24 points. Alperen Sengun flirted with a triple-double and posted 15 points, nine rebounds and nine assists before fouling out, and Filipino-American Jalen Green tallied 11 for Houston, which led by 31 points in the third quarter.
Moses Moody finished with 25 points and nine rebounds, Kevin Knox II added 14 markers, while Stephen Curry and Pat Spencer contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Warriors./PN
BOX SCORE:
MINNESOTA 103 — Gobert 27, Randle 23, A. Edwards 15, Alexander-Walker 10, DiVincenzo 9, McDaniels 8, Conley 8, Reid 3.
LOS ANGELES 96 — Doncic 28, Hachimura 23, James 22, Reaves 12, Finney-Smith 7, Kleber 2, Vanderbilt 2, Vincent 0.
Quarterscores: 31-22, 59-49, 81-80, 103-96.
