Timberwolves knock Lakers out of play-offs

The Los Angeles Lakers exited the NBA play-offs at the first hurdle as the Minnesota Timberwolves completed a 4-1 series victory with a 103-96 win in game five.

The Lakers had been hoping to equal the Boston Celtics' record with an 18th championship.

But they were beaten in the first round for a second consecutive year after a dominant display from Rudy Gobert, who registered 27 points and 24 rebounds for the Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena.

"It feels great," he said. "We had a season with ups and downs so to come here and play the way we did means a lot.

"We just have a bunch of guys that want to win, and a lot of guys who have been through adversity throughout their career and their life, and we love each other.

"All the things we went through throughout the season prepared us for this moment."

Luka Doncic scored 28 points, Rui Hachimura 23 and LeBron James 22 for the Lakers.

The Timberwolves will face the Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semi-finals.

The Rockets kept their play-off hopes alive with a 131-116 win against the Warriors in game five, cutting their series deficit to 3-2.

Fred VanVleet scored 26 points for the Rockets, while Amen Thompson added 25 and Dillon Brooks 24 at Toyota Center.

The Rockets led by 31 points at one stage, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr substituted many of his starters in the third quarter in order to keep them fresh for game six.

"We can't come out with that lack of defensive focus and energy and expect to beat a great team on their home floor," said Kerr.

"They took it to us - they were awesome tonight."

Game six takes place at 02:00 BST on Saturday at Chase Center in San Francisco.