By HoopsHype | April 26, 2025
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Khobi Price @khobi_price With Luka Doncic playing through an illness, LeBron James kept the Lakers in Game 3 with one of his highest-scoring playoff games in a Lakers uniform. But LAL didn’t overcome its own mistakes and size disparity, with Minnesota taking a 2-1 series lead:
ocregister.com/2025/04/25/lak… – 2:30 AM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter LeBron: “In the postseason, there is no room for error.”
He cited the possession matchup, noting that Minnesota got 91 shots off to LA’s 78, caused in part by the turnovers (19 to 11) and offensive boards (+2 for MIN). – 1:41 AM
LeBron James said the Lakers’ turnovers decided the game. He pointed to the Wolves’ 91 shots and the Lakers’ 78 shots: “That’s pretty much the game right there” – 1:40 AM
Christopher Hine @ChristopherHine
Anthony Edwards on LeBron: “He was shooting from Yucatan. He was shooting it crazy. He caught one in transition, and I was closing out. And I’m like, he not about to shoot this. He launched. I’m not gonna lie – it was fun to watch him, be competing against him today.” – 1:27 AM
Jorge Sierra @hoopshype LeBron James tied Kevin McHale in playoff blocks and is now No. 9 in NBA history.
Also: Jayson Tatum (age 27) passed Ray Allen in scoring for No. 38 all-time. Jaylen Brown tied John Stockton at No. 46. – 1:13 AM
Anthony Edwards combining that lethal 3-point shooting with his size and athleticism is going to lead to results we have never seen before 🧨🧨🧨🧨🧨 – 12:31 AM
Khobi Price @khobi_price Final: Timberwolves 116, Lakers 104. LAL falls to 2-1 in the series. LeBron James: 38p/10r/4a. Austin Reaves: 20p/7r/4a. Luka Doncic: 17p(6-16)/8a/7r/ Anthony Edwards (29p/8a/8r) scored or assisted on MIN’s final 13 points.
Next up: Sunday afternoon for Game 4. – 12:30 AM
Ant knocked off Durant and Jokic last year. He’s two wins away from adding LeBron and Luka to the list this year. Not many 24-year-olds in NBA history with a resume like that. – 12:30 AM
Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS That’s a really, really hard loss to come back for as the Lakers. You play Game 4 in 39 hours. We don’t know how Luka will feel. We don’t know how LeBron will handle the limited rest.
The turnovers. The missed free throws. The inadvertent whistles. Just a brutal beat. – 12:27 AM
I know sportswriters have been saying “appreciate LeBron, you don’t know how many more years we have left of this” for like nine years now, but my God, he’s been doing this for so long his kid is on the bench watching it. It’s just unreal. – 12:07 AM
Khobi Price @khobi_price LeBron James is 2 points away from his 3rd 40-point playoff game with the Lakers.
The other two: 5/22/23 vs. Denver; 10/9/20 vs. Miami. – 12:05 AM
I’m trying to think of the real-world, non-sports equivalent of LeBron doing this at 40. Like a 160-year-old accountant saving you a bundle on your taxes? Teddy Roosevelt still being able to run for president today? – 12:04 AM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter LeBron at age 40 in Year 22: 13 for 20 FG’s, 5 of 8 3’s, 7 of 10 FT’s, 38 points, 10 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block in 37 minutes.
Still 5:12 to play. – 12:04 AM
Wow. LeBron from the logo. – 12:02 AM
B2B 3’s from LeBron have him up to 35 points on 12 of 19 FG’s and 4 of 7 from 3 as he tries to keep the Lakers attached, trailing 100-96 with 6:40 to play. – 12:00 AM
LeBron James’ 35 points tonight are the most in NBA postseason history by a player past the age of 40. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held the record since 1987 when he scored 32 points on 13-of-18 shooting in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, when L.A. beat the Boston Celtics to win the title – 12:00 AM
Khobi Price @khobi_price End of 3Q: Timberwolves 86, Lakers 84.
MIN scored 11 of its 32 3Q points off LAL’s six TOVs. LAL staying in it behind great shooting: 14-29 on 3s for the game and 5-8 in the 3Q. LeBron James: 27p/7r/3a. Austin Reaves: 19p/6r/3a/3tovs. Luka Doncic: 13p(5-14)/8a/5r/5tovs. – 11:48 PM
The Lakers are up 58-54 at the half. LeBron 22p on 9-of-12 6r 2a; AR 14p on 5-of-11 (4-of-8 from 3) 4r; Luka 8p on 3-of-9 5a 2r. MIN: McDaniels 14p on 7-of-13; Randle 14p 3a; Edwards 12p on 5-of-15 3r 3a – 11:06 PM
Luka’s down, LeBron and Austin are lifting him up. One of the advantages of having three great shot-creators is that you can usually get by with two if the third one is having an off-night. – 11:04 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter Free throw misses hurting LA here, as they’re just 5 for 11 after LeBron’s 3rd miss in 5 attempts.
Wolves got a 3 from Edwards on the other end to tie it up at 52, but Reaves answered on the other end with his 4th triple. – 11:00 PM
Tim Reynolds @ByTimReynolds The last two instances a 40-year-old player with a 20-point first half in a playoff game. 4/25/04 — Karl Malone, Lakers 4/25/25 — LeBron James, Lakers
21 years to the day apart. – 10:52 PM
Tonight is the 100th time LeBron James has had a 20-point half in a playoff game. It’s his 290th career playoff game – the most in NBA history. He’s never missed a playoff game since he first made the postseason with Cleveland in 2006. – 10:49 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter With Luka (5 points on 2 of 7 FG’s and 5 assists) under the weather, LeBron has ramped up his scoring in a big way, already up to 20 points on 8 of 10 FG’s, after drilling a side-step 3.
LA lead 46-41 after 1 of 2 Doncic FT’s. – 10:45 PM
Ant Edwards had some trash talk for LeBron after that missed free throw the last trip down the floor. LeBron followed with a stepback 3 the next possession. He already has 20 pts on 8-for-10 shooting. – 10:43 PM
Anthony Edwards hasn’t been good enough as a finisher in this series. 1/7 at rim in Game 1, 1/4 tonight. Lakers aren’t that type of rim protecting team. – 10:38 PM
LeBron James is giving LAL a scoring lift early, with Luka Doncic under the weather. James has 16 pts on 7-for-9 shooting and there’s still 6:45 remaining in the 2nd Q. He averaged 20 pts in Games 1 and 2. – 10:38 PM
Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS Welcome to the series, Austin Reaves.
If the Lakers are gonna win this thing, he’s gotta keep making shots and taking advantages of the mismatches playing with Luka and Bron create. – 10:32 PM
Christopher Hine @ChristopherHine
Was wondering if LeBron was going to turn up the aggressiveness in this series, and tonight seems to be the night. 10 points, 4 rebounds on 5-for-7 for him early. Wolves offense bogged down to start the 2nd here. – 10:31 PM
The Wolves lead 32-26 after an intense 1st Q. LAL’s six turnovers led to nine MIN pts. Wolves are punishing the Lakers in the paint (18-10). LeBron and AR have 6 pts apiece; Luka has 2 pts on 1-of-6 (0-of-3 from 3) with 5 ast. – 10:26 PM
Khobi Price @khobi_price Looks like the Timberwolves have rearranged their spacing with the way the Lakers have defended Anthony Edwards’ isos from the wing after struggling the first two games of the series.
Minnesota leading 27-19 late in the 1Q. – 10:18 PM
Christopher Hine @ChristopherHine Wolves offense looking more like the Game 1 version than the Game 2 version, and they have a 27-19 lead. Wolves 11-17 to open the night. Edwards with 5 points, 3 assists.
Doncic has only 2 points, but 5 assists. LeBron came out more aggressive offensively (6 points). – 10:16 PM
Other than Anthony Edwards making a billion 3s now, Jaden McDaniels leveling up on offense is the most significant long-term development of the season for Minnesota. – 10:12 PM
Minnesota opens the game 6 for 7 from the field, enough to take a 15-7 lead before LeBron’s 2nd bucket of the game snapped an 11-0 run. – 10:07 PM
Jorge Sierra @hoopshype Most times leading an NBA season in scoring (regular season + playoffs) 10: Michael Jordan 6: Wilt Chamberlain 5: George Mikan, Kobe Bryant 4: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3: James Harden, LeBron James, KD, George Gervin
2: Iverson, Pettit, English, Fulks, West, Tatum, McAdoo, Shaq – 4:03 PM
Jorge Sierra @hoopshype As of today, Stephen Curry has a better winning percentage in the playoffs than Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James.
Now you know that. – 2:39 PM
LeBron James on his groin/hip injuries he was dealing with entering the playoffs: “I’m available today.” – 1:01 PM
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