It wasn’t merely a game of the NBA’s new play-in tournament. It was pure survival for the Lakers.

What You Need To Know

  • The Lakers emerged as victors against the Minnesota Timberwolves, 108-102

  • There was agony when Anthony Davis fouled Mike Conley on a three-pointer with 0.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter

  • There was vindication with Dennis Schroder’s heroics down the stretch

  • The Lakers have been grinding for months, perhaps even since November after a stunningly poor 2-10 start

They eked out an exhausting overtime win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, 108-102, to clinch the seventh seed in the Western Conference and advance to play the Memphis Grizzlies in a best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

Tuesday’s game simply felt like a best-of-seven series rolled into 53 minutes at Crypto.com Arena.

There was agony when Anthony Davis fouled Mike Conley on a three-pointer with 0.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Minnesota guard made all three free throws to send the game to overtime with a 98-98 score.

“My brain fart there almost cost us the game,” Davis ruefully told Spectrum SportsNet.

There was vindication with Dennis Schroder’s heroics down the stretch. He had 21 points in a reserve role, helping ease the memory of his woeful 0-for-9 shooting effort against Phoenix two years ago in a Lakers playoff game.

And there was joy, or more like a muted celebration, when the Lakers emerged as victors.

“They really made us work for this one,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “We’re very fortunate to come out with this win.”

The Lakers (44-39) don’t have to play again until Sunday in Memphis. This is a good thing, judging how tired they looked at their last few regular-season games and, of course, Tuesday.

Fatigue hits all teams at this time of the year, but the Grizzlies (51-31) are probably more impervious than most teams, thanks to their youth. Point guard Ja Morant and center Jaren Jackson Jr. are only 23 and rising stars at their positions. Shooting guard Desmond Bane is only 24 with a deadly three-point shot.

The Lakers actually won the season series against the second-seeded Grizzlies, two games to one.

The Lakers have been grinding for months, perhaps even since November after a stunningly poor 2-10 start.

“The analytics guys said we had a 0.3% chance to make the post-season,” LeBron James said Tuesday, later adding, “We took care of business. We advanced.”

James finished with 30 points in a weighty 45 minutes. Davis, despite his ill-advised foul on Conley, had 24 points and 15 rebounds in a similarly notable 43 minutes.

The Lakers were buoyed by Schroder’s efforts, including a three-pointer that supplied an apparently insurmountable three-point lead with 1.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter. It didn’t work out that way, but there was still plenty of praise for Schroder.

“His heart, his competitive spirit … in the biggest moments,” Ham said of Schroder’s attributes. “He’s unbelievable, extraordinary. He lives for these types of moments.”

Schroder left the game in the second quarter after twisting his left ankle and hobbling off the court. He did not come back until the third quarter but showed no ill effects upon returning.

The Lakers didn’t get a good game from starting point guard D’Angelo Russell, who had only two points on one-for-nine shooting.

“We’re going to need him in this run we plan to make,” Ham said. “He’s just got to be able to snap back and bounce back.”

The Lakers were favored by 9.5 points against a Minnesota team that experienced an incredibly uncomfortable few days before Tuesday’s tip-off.

It started with center Rudy Gobert punching teammate Kyle Anderson in the chest during a timeout in Sunday’s win over New Orleans. Gobert was immediately sent home and later suspended for Tuesday’s game against the Lakers.

Compounding the Timberwolves’ problems in their regular-season finale was the unexpected exit of starting forward Jaden McDaniels. He was irritated after a foul call against New Orleans, was taken out of the game by his coach and immediately punched a wall in a hallway just off the court. He sustained a fractured hand and was declared out for the rest of the season a day later.

So the Timberwolves arrived in Los Angeles without two starters. And very little momentum to show for a herky-jerky season that included a four-month absence by star big man Karl-Anthony Towns because of a calf injury.

It was definitely surprising when the Lakers trailed at halftime, 60-49, as Towns scored 17 points of his 24 points.

The undermanned Timberwolves still led by seven going into the fourth quarter before their offense started to falter. In fact, Minnesota didn’t score another basket after Conley’s three-pointer with 6:01 left in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers then held Minnesota to four points in overtime as their defense saved the day.

On to Memphis they go. Fatigued and tired, but maybe, just maybe, still dangerous.