Lakers player grades: L.A. blows it again in crunch time

The Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 3 of their first-round playoff series versus the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday because they were outscored 13-1 down the stretch after the score was tied at 103 with just over four minutes left. Once again, they had a golden opportunity to win a contest that was up for grabs on Sunday.

They established multiple leads in Game 4, which included a 72-61 lead after they scored the first 14 points of the third quarter. The Lakers were still ahead 94-84 going into the fourth quarter, but then Anthony Edwards started doing his best imitation of the late great Kobe Bryant, and that lead gradually disappeared.

Down the stretch, Los Angeles again made multiple…