Lakers' JJ Redick Says It Wasn't 'Planned' to Use Just 5 Players in 2nd Half of Game 4

JJ Redick was not planning to use just five players in the second half of the Los Angeles Lakers' Game 4 116-113 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“Not a planned thing to play five guys an entire second half," Redick told reporters after the game. "Asked them at the beginning of the fourth quarter and told them we had two extra timeouts. If you need a sub, let us know. Those guys gave a lot.”

The decision came at halftime after the Lakers were trailing 61-58, following a 12-3 run by the Timberwolves in the final 2:15 of the second quarter, per The Orange County Register's Khobi Price.

This is the first time in the play-by-play era (1996-97) that only five players played an entire half in a playoff game for any team, according to NBA statistician Keerthika Uthayakumar.

With the game resulting in a loss for the Lakers, leading to a 3-1 hole against the Timberwolves, Redick does not regret his decision to stick with the five.

“Not on that one,” Redick told reporters when asked if he second-guessed his methods. “Once you’ve kind of made that decision, and they all are in, you just gotta trust them.”

His trusted five almost all finished in double-digits, LeBron James (27), Rui Hachimura (23), Luka Doncic (38), Austin Reaves (17) and Dorian Finney-Smith (6) off the bench.

The Lakers were outscored in the fourth quarter, 32-19, after Anthony Edwards dropped 43 points, supported by 25 from Julius Randle. The Lakers shot 5-of-18 from the field as a team and 4-of-12 from beyond the arc in the fourth.

Despite their fourth-quarter shooting slump, Doncic and James agreed that fatigue did not play a role.

“This is the playoffs – fatigue shouldn’t play any role in this,” Doncic told reporters. “I played a lot of minutes, but that shouldn’t play a role. I think they just executed better on the offensive end during the last minutes.

“We got some really good looks,” James added. “Luka missed a point-blank layup to put us up seven. I missed a point-blank layup to put us up four. We had a couple opportunities. I don’t think fatigue had anything to do with that. Just missing some point-blank shots. We were getting into what we wanted to get into. We just weren’t able to convert.”

Game 5 between the Lakers and Timberwolves is scheduled for Wednesday in Minnesota, as the Timberwolves look to seal the deal with their fourth win against the Lakers.