Timberwolves knock Lakers out of play-offs LeBron James during the Los Angeles Lakers' defeat by the Minnesota Timberwolves

The Los Angeles Lakers exited the NBA play-offs at the first hurdle as the Minnesota Timberwolves completed a 4-1 series victory with a 103-96 win in game five.

The Lakers had been hoping to equal the Boston Celtics' record with an 18th championship.

But they were beaten in the first round for a second consecutive year after a dominant display from Rudy Gobert, who registered 27 points and 24 rebounds for the Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena.


"It feels great," he said. "We had a season with ups and downs so to come here and play the way we did means a lot.

"We just have a bunch of guys that want to win, and a lot of guys who have been through adversity throughout their career and their life, and we love each other.

"All the things we went through throughout the season prepared us for this moment."

Luka Doncic scored 28 points, Rui Hachimura 23 and LeBron James 22 for the Lakers.