Rudy Gobert had playoff career highs of 27 points and 24 rebounds, Julius Randle added 23 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves advanced in the NBA playoffs with a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of their first-round series. Anthony Edwards had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Wolves, who won three straight games to eliminate LeBron James and Luka Doncic from their first postseason together. Doncic had 28 points and nine assists while James added 22 points for the Lakers, who lost in the first round for the second straight postseason.
Fred VanVleet scored 26 points, Amen Thompson added 25 and the Houston Rockets avoided elimination with a 131-116 rout of the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of a first-round playoff series. Game 6 is Friday in San Francisco. Warriors coach Steve Kerr threw in the towel early with Wednesday night’s game out of hand. A layup by VanVleet midway through the third quarter made it 93-64, and Kerr called timeout and cleared his bench. Dillon Brooks added 24 points on a night when all five Houston scored in double figures. Stephen Curry was held to 13 points for the Warriors and Jimmy Butler scored eight.
