Lakers lose to Minnesota and head to the precipice in NBA playoffs

In a nail-biting finish, The Los Angeles Lakers of LeBron James and Luka Doncic fell 116-113 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, advancing 3-1 in this Western Conference first-round series in the NBA.

In the East, the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics also took 3-1 leads in their series over the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic.

Doncic's 38 points and LeBron's 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers were insufficient against the young and hungry Timberwolves commanded by Anthony Edwards, who reached 43 points.

The Los Angeles franchise now needs to win three straight games to advance to the conference semifinals, starting with Wednesday's game in Los Angeles.

Teams that have been down 3-1 have only won their playoffs 13 of 288 times (4%) in all playoff history.

LeBron, 40, and Doncic, who was very limited in Friday's game because of stomach problems, stayed on the court for 46 of the game's 48 minutes.

JJ Redick kept the same quintet on the court for the entire second half in an attempt to return to Los Angeles with the playoffs tied.

"We had really good opportunities, I don't think fatigue had anything to do with it. We just missed clear shots," LeBron said in a somber press conference.

"It's certainly disappointing, but we haven't lost anything yet. The first one to four wins wins wins and we have to keep believing," Doncic stressed from his side.

"Today I felt better, there is no excuse for not winning this game," the Slovenian stressed, who is making his debut in a postseason in the gold and purple uniform.

Edwards decides

Doncic led the first charge in Minneapolis with 13 points in the opening 11 minutes, but the Timberwolves withstood the onslaught at the hands of Edwards and Julius Randle (25 tallies).

Reaves (17 points) and Rui Hachimura (23) then joined the battle for the Lakers, who opened the final quarter with a 94-84 lead.

But Edwards, with two straight three-pointers, ate into that gap, and the game was defined in a heart-wrenching close in which Doncic and LeBron made key mistakes.

In the final sequence, with Minnesota up by one point, LeBron missed a pass that was stolen by Jaden McDaniels and fouled Edwards, which the referees flagged with ten seconds left after reviewing the footage.

The point guard converted the free throws, and Reaves missed a three-pointer from the corner at the buzzer, which would have forced overtime.

"I've been dreaming about this my whole life, about being in these situations," said Edwards, 23, one of the NBA's great young stars.

Knicks win with refereeing error

In Detroit, the New York Knicks defeated the Pistons 94-93 in a game marked by a refereeing error on the last play.

Cade Cunningham, Detroit's leading scorer, first missed a layup.

After a fierce scramble for the rebound, the ball came in the corner to teammate Tim Hardaway Jr, who missed a three-pointer at the buzzer after apparently being knocked off balance by his marker, Josh Hart.

The referees saw no foul on Hart's action and called the game off amid intense complaints from Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

David Guthrie, the head referee, reviewed the tape and realized that Hart's action deserved to be called a foul.

For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson signed 32 points and 11 assists, and Karl-Anthony Towns another 27 points with 5 three-pointers, one of them to give New York the lead for good with 47 seconds left.

Cunningham signed his first triple-double in the postseason with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Pistons, who have not won a home playoff game since 2008.

Celtics react in Orlando

The Knicks moved to 3-1 overall, the same lead the Boston Celtics acquired with Sunday's 108-97 win over the Orlando Magic.

After Friday's stumble, Jayson Tatum took over for the Celtics with 37 points and 14 rebounds in an evenly matched game where neither team exceeded a nine-point lead.

The 38-year-old Dominican Al Horford was the defensive bulwark for the defending champions, scoring 6 points, 6 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Only one other player, the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, had ever posted five blocks in a playoff game at the age of 38.

The Magic again relied too much on their two-star players, Paolo Banchero (31 points) and Franz Wagner (24), and will go into Tuesday's Game 5 with no margin for error.