Lakers had officials on their side in blowout Game 1 loss to the Timberwolves

Luka Dončić's first playoff game in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform didn't go as planned ... for him and his new team. However, it went swimmingly for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who cruised to a 117-95 Game 1 first-round road victory

Minnesota quickly regrouped following a slow start in which they trailed 28-21 after the first quarter, though they got no help along the way. Not only did they face the Lakers and a Crypto.com Arena flooded with purple and gold, but they also had to deal with lopsided officiating.

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Lakers got blown out by the Timberwolves in Game 1 despite refs being on their side

Excluding intentional fouls and "garbage time," Minnesota was called for 21 personal fouls to L.A.'s six, a user on X (formerly known as Twitter) notes. Moreover, the Wolves were assessed two techs while the Lakers had none and only committed a lone defensive three-second violation. Talk about a hometown whistle!

The Timberwolves notably registered 12 more points in the paint and outrebounded the Lakers by six. While that doesn't necessarily paint the whole picture, those are two signs they were the more physical squad and won the interior battle. Despite this, the glaring disparity in infractions went in Los Angeles's favor, yet Minnesota found a way to prevail handily.

Only two Lakers (Dončić and Austin Reaves) had at least three fouls. Conversely, four of Minnesota's five starters reached or exceeded that count. The Timberwolves attempted 10 combined free throws, and no player shot more than two; Los Angeles' Serbian superstar went 8-of-9 from the line. Notice the imbalance?

Dončić was ready for the Timberwolves, recording 37 points on 12-of-22 shooting, including 5-of-10 from three-point range, eight rebounds, an assist and two steals. But the rest of the Lakers were not prepared to do battle with last season's Western Conference runner-up, and it showed. Even with some support from the zebras, Los Angeles got shellacked in front of their home. Now facing a 1-0 series deficit, how will they respond to getting punched in the mouth?