Luka Doncic’s honest admission on Timberwolves rematch

LOS ANGELES – The last time the Los Angeles Lakers squared off against the Minnesota Timberwolves, it was during last season’s playoffs when the Lakers were eliminated in five games. It was a disappointing end of the Lakers who had grabbed a top-three seed in the Western Conference. But following the Lakers’ 128-110 win on Friday in their rematch against the Timberwolves, Luka Doncic admitted that he wasn’t concerned with last season’s playoffs.

“I honestly didn’t. I always say last year was really tough for me. I just want to forget about that season, trying to move on,” Doncic said. “I didn’t really think about that first round series just because it’s the second game. We’re going to meet them two or three more times, it’s going to be a war every time we play.”

Luka Doncic continued his torrid start to the 2025-26 season, dropping 49 points against the Timberwolves, just mere nights after his 43-point effort against the Golden State Warriors on opening night. Against the Wolves, he shot 14-of-23 (60.8 percent) from the field, 5-of-12 (41.6 percent) from the three-point line and 16-of-19 from the free-throw line.

But it wasn’t just Doncic’s scoring that carved up the Wolves. He also grabbed 11 rebounds and was two assists shy of a triple double with eight.  A good number of his assists came from looking for Deandre Ayton around the basket.

In the offseason, Doncic garnered headlines due to his apparent body transformation as he participated at EuroBasket with the Slovenian national team. Following the win against the Timberwolves, Doncic affirmed that he’s feeling great physically to begin this season.

“I feel great. I wish we have won the first game [of the season], but obviously it’s a good comeback,” Doncic said. “I think Minnesota is a great team. We had to do a lot to win today. But myself, I feel great. . .I just want to win every game.”

Doncic is coming off his first full training camp with the Lakers following his trade from the Dallas Mavericks last season. After the trade, Doncic appeared in 28 games for the Lakers, at a little over 35 minutes per game. He averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.6 steals with splits of 43.8 percent shooting from the field, 37.9 percent shooting from the three-point line and 79.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

The Lakers will face off against the Wolves two more times during the regular season with the next matchup coming next week in Minnesota, and the final meeting not until Mar. 10 which is a Lakers home game.