Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, Injury Report, Predicted Lineups, Where to Watch, Odds | Game 5 NBA Playoffs 2025

The Los Angeles Lakers will be hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday at home for the upcoming Game 5 of their ongoing playoff opening round series. The Timberwolves have been able to emerge as the underdogs in this series, seemingly besting the Lakers superstar duo of LeBron James and Luka Doncic to 3-1 in the series. In Game 4, Minnesota clinched to a solid win by 3 points, despite being down big.

With the series heading back to LA, the Lakers perhaps have one last chance to salvage their losses and stretch the series to Game 7. For the Timberwolves, its yet another chance for them to progress past the might Lakers to the Conference semi-finals, something which they did last postseason as well after sweeping Kevin Durant's Phoenix Suns.

In this article, find the best preview, predictions, possible lineups, injury reports, and betting odds pertaining to the Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Game 5 matchup.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Game Preview

Going out in the series, the Los Angeles Lakers were the favorites in winning the series by five. In fact, with Luka Doncic and LeBron James being healthy, they still had an incredible chance to level the series to 2-2 in Game 4. In the third quarter of the game, they made a 14-0 run, nailing four triples and seizing the momentum with a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

However, bad news for the Lakers was that Anthony Edwards wasn't willing to let the game slip off his hands without a fight. Edwards scored 11 straight points to cut the deficit to four. Besides Edwards, Julius Randle, Naz Reid, Donte DiVincnenzo and Jaden McDaniels also scored crucial buckets to secure this win.

For the Lakers, they have heavily lacked on showing clutch factor as a team. Some crucial errors such as zoning out down the stretch can cost immensely, especially during postseason. Furthermore, Timberwolves defense during the final few minutes of games force Lakers players to have poor shot selections, thus costing them the game.

In the previous game, the Wolves captured 18 offensive rebounds as compared to the Lakers' 11. This helped them gain a crucial edge in scoring to cut the Lakers' lead. Perhaps, if the Lakeshow review their game-time tactics, perhaps all hope is not lost for LA to not crash out of this series.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Injury Report

As for the Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Game 5's injury report, there are no such major players listed in either team's list. However, concerning to the previous injury reports in the series, here is how Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves injury report look like at this moment.

Los Angeles Lakers Injury Report

For Game 4, LeBron James was healthy and absent from the Los Angeles Lakers injury report. Earlier, there were concerns about James and Luka Doncic's availability for the team. However, as of now, there is only one player on the Lakers' listed on injury report:

• Maxi Kleber (Foot): Maxi Kleber has been ruled out to play Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Minnesota Timberwolves Injury Report

For the meanwhile, neither does the Minnesota Timberwolves injury report consist of any big names in the list. The franchise's stars such as Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and Jaden McDaniels are in the best of their health and have been showing up pretty well for the series. As of now, here is how Minnesota Timberwolves injury report looks like:

• Rob Dillingham (Ankle): Rob Dillingham was last ruled out for Game 4 of this series. His status for Game 5 is yet to be updated.

Predicted Lineup

The lineups and starting 5s for both the Lakers and Timberwolves will more or less remain similar to Game 4's. Nevertheless, here is how the lineups might look like for both the teams.

Los Angeles Lakers Predicted Lineup

The following is Los Angeles Lakers predicted lineup for Game 5:

Bench Players: PG: Gabe Vincent | PF: Dorian Finney-Smith | PF: Jared Vanderbilt

Minnesota Timberwolves Predicted Lineup

The following is Minnesota Timberwolves predicted lineup for Game 5:

Bench: SG: Donte DiVincenzo | SG: Nickeil Alexander-Walker | C: Naz Reid

Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction: Who will win?

There are a few expectations one can have for Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves prediction. In the hindsight, the Lakers have been abysmal in closing out games and are now standing at the brink of elimination. On the other hand, Minnesota went all-out beyond expectations in the post season, especially in the postseason. Furthermore, the Timberwolves' late-season push for playoff contention still continues as they look to play deep once again in this postseason.

In this matchup, expect Anthony Edwards to score over 29.5 points as he had a 29 and 43 point outing in Game 3 and Game 4. It would be quite reasonable to expect him to continue with this trend in this matchup as well.

On the other hand, Luka Doncic could score less than 30.Though Luka went on a scoring streak, putting 36 last game, the Timberwolves defense can restrict him down the stretch. Perhaps, he could score around 25-29 points at the most.

There is a 70% chance for the Wolves to clinch this series and progress to the second round.

Our Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction: Minnesota Timberwolves win by 2 points

Lakers 111 - 113 Timberwolves

Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Betting Odds

The following are the Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Game 5 odds:

• Moneyline Pick: Timberwolves (+189)
• Total Pick: Over 209.5
• Pick ATS: Timberwolves (+5.5)

Where to Watch Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves

If you are wondering where to watch Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Game 5, here are all the details that you need to know ahead of the matchup:

• Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2025
• Game Time: 10 PM ET
• Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
• TV Channel: ABC
• Stream: YouTube, NBA League Pass, FUBO