Antetokounmpo, Portis Efforts Not Enough for Bucks; Thunder Dominate Again, Take 2-0 Lead; Lakers Even Up Series with Timberwolves

The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder took 2-0 leads in their respective first-round series' on Tuesday night, while the Los Angeles Lakers evened up their series with the Minnesota Timberwolves with a crucial Game 2 win.

In the headlining matchup on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers played a strong defensive game to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 95-84. 

In a game that the Lakers led 34-15 after one quarter and one which they looked to takeover, the Timberwolves battled as the game went along but failed to break through when they had their chances - whether it be from missed shots, poor possessions, or foul calls. 

Indeed, Game 2 was somewhat of a foul-fest, Naz Reid picking up his fourth foul early in the second quarter and Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels playing down the stretch with five apiece. The Lakers should be credited with their tough defense and interior rebounding especially with Rudy Gobert having prime real estate under the basket on many possessions and only ending up with six rebounds all game. 

The Lakers out-rebounded the Timberwolves 41-34, with double-digit efforts on the glass from LeBron James (11) and Luka Doncic (12). Doncic in 42 minutes scored a game-high 31 points with 9 assists on 9-for-20 and 2-for-8 from 3-point range. James, playing 40 minutes, scored 21 points and handed out 7 assists, going 8-for-19 with one made triple in five attempts. Austin Reaves, playing 43 minutes, went for 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists on 7-for-14. He missed on all six of his long ball attempts. 

Randle’s 27 points (6 assists, 4 rebounds, 9-for-17, 2-for-4 from deep) led the Wolves, while Anthony Edwards scored 25 points with 6 rebounds on 10-for-22 and only hitting on two 3-point shots in eight tries. Reid played 21 minutes due to foul trouble and scored 9 points. 

After making 21-of-42 attempts from deep in Game 1, the Wolves went 5-for-25 from beyond on Tuesday, and shot just 38%. Though the Lakers were only 6-for-29 from deep, they did shoot 45.3%. 

In a game that the Timberwolves found themselves in at the end despite getting down big early on, they should feel good going back to Minnesota tied at one and having split the first two contests. Gobert will have to be better on the glass and protecting the rim (0 blocks on Tuesday), Edwards has to shoot the ball better and Reid must stay out of foul trouble. It did not help in Game 2 that Mike Conley was 0-for-5 and Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker were a combined 2-for-10 shooting. 

In the early game on Tuesday (a 7 p.m. tip), the Indiana Pacers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 123-115 to take a 2-0 series lead. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo put forth a dominant effort once again of 34 points, 18 rebounds, and 7 assists on 14-for-20 shooting and 6-for-10 from the free-throw line. Bobby Portis off the bench poured in 28 points with 12 rebounds on 11-for-19 and six made 3-pointers in 11 attempts. 

The star-like output from Portis and Antetokounmpo’s usual dominant performance were not enough as six Pacers scored in double-figures, led by Pascal Siakam’s 24 points and 11 rebounds on 8-for-16, 2-for-5, and 6-for-6 from the line. 

Tyrese Haliburton was 8-for-19, 3-for-10 from deep and made two free-throws for 21 points and 12 assists while committing only three turnovers. Andrew Nembhard was 6-for-10 for 17 points (three triples), Aaron Nesmith was 4-for-5 from deep for 16 points, and Myles Turner was 6-for-10 for 15 points. Bennedict Mathurin was 4-for-10 off the bench, making all four of his free-throw attempts for 14 points in 17 minutes. The Pacers shot 48.9%, made 16 of their 36 3-point attempts, and shot a perfect 19-for-19 from the line. They had 30 assists and just eight turnovers to the Bucks’ 15 giveaways. 

Damian Lillard was understandably rusty in his return from deep vein thrombosis, scoring 14 points with 7 assists on 4-for-13 and 2-for-8 from deep in 37 minutes. 

In Oklahoma City, the Thunder, though not as potent offensively as they were in Game 1, still managed a comfortable win over the Memphis Grizzlies, 118-99, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 27 points, though he shot 10-for-29. Jalen Williams put up points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists and shot 10-for-19 from the field, making two of his six 3-point attempts.

Chet Holmgren was 6-for-14 for 20 points and 11 rebounds with 5 blocks. Isaiah Hartenstein had 10 rebounds, seven of them on the defensive glass. Alex Caruso off the bench made three of his six 3-point attempts for 13 points as the Thunder shot 43.3%, made 15 of 45 threes, and 13-of-16 from the line. They outrebounded the Grizzlies 55-42. 

Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies in rebounds with 12, part of the issue for the team when your big guys don’t rebound - Jaren Jackson Jr., 6 foot 10, only averaged 5.6 per game in the regular season and had six on Tuesday night, though he did lead the Grizzlies with his 26 points on 10-for-17 from the field. 7 foot, 4 inch rookie Zach Edey had 7 rebounds in his 26 minutes of action. 

Bane was just 7-for-17 and 2-for-7 from downtown for 19 points, while Ja Morant scored 23 points (6 assists), though he shot just 10-for-25. Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 13 points on 4-for-12, and Santi Aldama was 4-for-11 off the bench for 10 points. The Grizzlies shot 42.9% from the field and made 10 of their 31 attempts from deep, but the rebounding advantage for the Thunder and their 14 turnovers to the Thunder’s 7 helped do them in. 

Though the Grizzlies are talented, Oklahoma City’s depth shines through. Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso are all-NBA capable defenders while both being able to hit from long range, and Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins give a scoring punch. Joe is an excellent 3-point shooter.