Despite being down 3-1 to the Wolves, the Lakers feel they can still win this series.
This Lakers-Wolves series hasn’t gone the way Los Angeles has wanted.
After failing to win either of their road games against the Wolves, the Lakers are now down 3-1 in the series.
Every game is now a must-win scenario, and they’ll have to beat Minnesota three straight times to avoid elimination. Despite the challenge in front of them, the team remains confident that they can turn things around.
“I think we’re right there,” Rui Hachimura said after their Game 4 loss. “We’re just right there. We just have to fix little things. And we have to execute those last five minutes, six minutes. We got to be more focused mentally. Physically, we have to be more stronger. We got to make those shots. So, yeah, we’re right there.”
Not all 3-1 leads are built the same way. Los Angeles losing all but one game could make you think it’s been a series with Minnesota dominating, but that’s not the case.
Game 4 came down to the final possession, and the NBA also blew some calls late in the fourth that could’ve changed things. Give the Wolves credit for winning, but that game could’ve gone either way.
In Game 3, the Lakers lost by double figures but trailed by just one with six minutes to go. As Hachimura mentioned, the Lakers need to be better during the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. They have been outscored in the fourth 105-69 in this series.
Had they been just a bit sharper in closing out these games, this series could have been 3-1 with the Lakers on top.
During LeBron James’ postgame media availability after Game 4, he shared comments similar to Hachimura’s on the Lakers being close to victory. James credited Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid for finishing them off.
“They won the game, but it wasn’t like they completely pulled away,” LeBron said. “They won the game. They just made a couple opportunities. Obviously, Ant got it going in the fourth. I thought Naz minutes in the fourth was huge…We had opportunities to win. We just couldn’t close it.”
While the Lakers are down, they aren’t out. It’s first to four, not first to three.
The Lakers are well aware of how close these games have been, and they know what they need to clean up. They’ll have to come out and give their best performance in Game 5 if they want to win and force a Game 6.
Or else, their season will be over and they’ll look back at all these close games and wonder about “what-if” scenarios all summer.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.