T'Wolves hold off Lakers despite James’ 38

LOS ANGELES, United States — The Minnesota Timberwolves turned it up late to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 on Friday (Saturday, Manila time), withstanding a vintage performance from LeBron James to take a 2-1 lead in their NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high of 30 points and Anthony Edwards added 29 for the Timberwolves, who closed the game on a 13-1 scoring run.

With Slovenian star Luka Doncic slowed by illness, James led the Lakers with 38 points -- surpassing the playoff record for a player past his 40th birthday, the 32 points scored by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the NBA Finals in 1987.

The teams had split the first two games of the best-of-seven series in Los Angeles. The Timberwolves host game four on Sunday looking to take a 3-1 lead.

James added 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots, drilling a trio of three-pointers in the fourth quarter that helped the Lakers keep it close.

They tied it at 103-103 with 4:37 remaining on a basket by Doncic, who was battling a stomach ailment that Lakers coach JJ Redick said had him throwing up throughout the day.

Edwards responded with a three-pointer and Naz Reid followed with another. After driving for a layup Edwards blocked Rui Hachimura at the other end and after McDaniels pushed the lead to 116-104 with 39 seconds left, Redick pulled his starters.

Game 4 will be on early Monday morning (Manila time).