Luka Doncic's hot start sinks Timberwolves in Game 2

Luka Doncic 's hot start got the Los Angeles Lakers a big early lead.

The Lakers' defense stopped the Minnesota Timberwolves the rest of the way.

LUKA IS LIGHTING IT UP EARLY 14 PTS and counting in the 1st...

MIN-LAL on TNT pic.twitter.com/XhMXVYil4k Doncic put up 16 points, three rebounds and two assists in the first quarter as his Lakers jumped out to a 19-point lead after 12 minutes.

He finished just shy of a triple-double with 31 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in their 94-85 win.

Doncic looked especially good whenever the Lakers managed to get him matched up with four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert on a switch.

Step back.

Pump fake.

Ball fake.

Fadeaway.

LUKA PULLING OUT ALL THE TRICKS pic.twitter.com/dzL504PLCK Perhaps the Timberwolves weren't feeling as hungry after winning Game 1 on the road.

They didn't seem ready for the intensity from Doncic and the Lakers out of the gate.

By the time Minnesota rallied and ramped up its defense, holding Los Angeles to 13 points in the final quarter, it'd simply fallen too far behind.

LeBron James had 21 points and 11 rebounds, stealing the ball from Anthony Edwards and going in for a layup to snuff out the last flame of the Timberwolves' comeback.

LEBRON BIG STEAL & BUCKET LATE IN THE 4TH pic.twitter.com/huetkc1scX There were two big differences between Games 1 and 2.

One was the Timberwolves' foul trouble, caused in part by Doncic drawing early fouls.

Minnesota reserves Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo committed a lot of early fouls, limiting their minutes, while Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels each finished with five fouls, limiting their aggressiveness.

The other difference was Minnesota's three-point shooting.

After making 21 threes in Game 1, it went 5-for-25 in Game 2.

Some of that was inaccuracy, but a lot of it was the Lakers defense making the T-wolves' shooters uncomfortable.

And some of that was Reid and DiVincenzo having to sit, instead of getting in a shooting rhythm.

The Lakers did what they had to do to even up the series.

It'll be the Timberwolves' turn to respond when the series moves to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday night.

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cubes three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3.

Hes written for Comedy Centrals Another Period, ESPN the Magazine, and Audible.

com.

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