Mar 12, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) defends Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the second half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron

The Minnesota Timberwolves headed into Los Angeles on Saturday as the underdogs and took care of the Lakers in dominant fashion for the Game 1 win, 117-95. Earlier in the season, it appeared as if the Timberwolves had made a massive mistake trading away Karl-Anthony Towns. However, they proved they can win without him in the big-time win.

Now with Minnesota eliminating the Lakers’ home-court advantage, the pressure will be on for Los Angeles to avoid a 0-2 series deficit on Tuesday. Despite nearly 19,000 fans in crypto.com Arena, Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards said that it doesn’t even come close to the environment in a fellow Western Conference arena.

“An atmosphere like this is easy for me, I’ve played in Denver, man. Denver is a tough place to play in on the road,” Edwards said when comparing Los Angeles’ home court advantage to that of the Nuggets.

Even though the Lakers boasted a better regular-season home record than the Nuggets, the Nuggets were able to hang on to a home win in their Game 1 victory while the Lakers fell through. Regardless, the Nuggets have historically held one of the best home-court records in the NBA. Dating back to January 1st, 2020, the Nuggets are 152-66 at home.

While a playoff matchup between the Nuggets and Timberwolves would surely entertain, it’s only possible this season if both teams advance to face each other in the Western Conference Finals.