The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Friday's Game 3, falling 116-104 as the Timberwolves took a two-games-to-one lead in the opening round series. Though the 40-year-old James had a throwback performance with 38 points, the Lakers were unable to overcome the hot Timberwolves on a night when Luka Doncic was dealing with an illness.

In the night’s finale, the Los Angeles Lakers fell to a heavy defeat in front of their home fans, losing 117-95 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of their Western Conference best-of-seven series.