Luka Doncic leads Lakers to 1-1 tie with Timberwolves

Luka Doncic scored 16 of his 31 points in a dominating first quarter and added 12 rebounds and nine assists as the Los Angeles Lakers evened their Western Conference first-round playoff series with a 94-85 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

LeBron James added 21 points and 11 rebounds, Austin Reaves scored 16 points and Rui Hachimura had 11 as the No. 3 seed Lakers rebounded from a 22-point loss in the series opener Saturday.

Julius Randle scored 27 points and Anthony Edwards added 25 for the Timberwolves, who shot 38 percent after shooting 51.2 percent in Game 1, when they were also 21 of 42 from 3-point range. Minnesota was 5 of 25 from long range in Game 2.

Jaden McDaniels scored eight points for the Timberwolves after he scored a team-high 25 in Game 1. Minnesota heads home, where it went 2-0 against Los Angeles in the regular season.

Los Angeles roared out to a double-digit lead less than seven minutes into the game. The Lakers were up 34-15 at the end of the first quarter, shooting 55 percent while holding Minnesota to 27.8 percent.

Hachimura went to the locker room in the first quarter after he was inadvertently hit in the face by the Timberwolves' Naz Reid. He returned midway through the second quarter, wearing a protective mask.

The Lakers led by 22 points in the first half and were up 58-43 at halftime.

Minnesota got within 11 points, at 62-51, with 7:48 remaining in the third quarter before Los Angeles went on a 9-0 run for a 71-51 advantage.

The Timberwolves pulled within single digits at 86-77 with 6:27 remaining, on a fadeaway from McDaniels. It was the closest they had been since 15-8 in the first quarter.

The Wolves were again within nine points, at 90-81, when James had a steal and a coast-to-coast layup for a 92-81 lead with 2:40 left.

--Field Level Media