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The battle for the final two seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference tournaments is here. The first play-in game for the Western Conference is between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
The game (10 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on TNT, but if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream on DirecTV Stream, which includes TNT and comes with a free trial.
That’s the best live stream option if you’re cutting cable, but there are also some other alternatives, so here’s a full guide on the different ways you can watch a live stream of the Timberwolves vs Lakers online:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” TNT is included in every one, and you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the Timberwolves vs Lakers live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of TNT and 40-plus other live TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” or “Sling Blue” bundle. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service with TNT, and you can get your first month for half off:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch the Timberwolves vs Lakers live on the Sling TV app or Sling TV website.
Compatible devices for the Sling TV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of TNT and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which now also includes access to both ESPN+ and Disney+ at no added cost:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch the Timberwolves vs Lakers live on the Hulu app or Hulu website.
Compatible devices for the Hulu app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Timberwolves vs Lakers Preview
Starting in the 2021 season, the NBA launched a new stage of the postseason tournament, the play-in games. In each conference, the teams that finish 7th through 10th in the standings play in a play-in game to advance to the conference tournament. The No. 9 and No. 10 seeds play in a single-elimination game, while the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds play in a double-elimination format.
The way it works is the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds play one game and the winner advances to face the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. The loser will get to play the winner of the No. 9 and No. 10 seed game. Therefore the winner of the 9/10 game can also advance to take the last slot in the conference tournament.
In this year’s Western Conference, the 7-10 seeds are (in order) the Los Angeles Lakers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the New Orleans Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder. So the Lakers and Timberwolves are playing for the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament, and the loser of their game will then play the winner of the Pelicans/Thunder game for the No. 8 seed.
During the regular season, the Lakers finished ahead of the Timberwolves in the standings with a 43-39 record (the T-Wolves were 42-40). But head to head, the Timberwolves beat the Lakers twice this season; the Lakers only won once, though their victory did come just 11 days ago, so they own the most recent head to head battle. But the Timberwolves also won two games against the Lakers in the preseason.
In the pre-game press conference (via Clutch Points), Lakers star LeBron James said that, as the higher seed, it’s nice not to have to travel, but they still need to be ready for Minnesota.
“For us, it’s just good that we don’t have to travel. But we shouldn’t be comfortable. Have to be on edge … When you got guys like Karl Anthony-Towns, Anthony Edwards — those guys can both go for 40 against you. You got a very cerebral point guard like Mike Conley Jr. that’s been in multiple playoff games … We know what we’re getting ourselves into,” said James.
D’Angelo Russell added, “That team’s got a lot of firepower. Defensive intensity is gonna get us out of there … they’ve got some heavy hitters in there.”
The play-in game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers tips off on Tuesday, April 11 at approximately 9:30 p.m. Eastern time on TNT.
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How to Watch Lakers vs Timberwolves Play-In Game Online