JJ Redick admitted the Los Angeles Lakers were not prepared for the Minnesota Timberwolves' physicality in their playoff opener.

The Timberwolves have a 1-0 advantage over the Lakers in the best-of-seven series after a 117-95 Game 1 win on Saturday.

Luka Doncic had 37 points, with 16 of those coming in the first quarter, and eight rebounds in his Lakers post-season debut, while LeBron James had 19 points as Los Angeles failed to show a threat on the offensive end.

And Redick believes that is down to not being able to come out on top physically, despite showing promise in other areas.

"They're a great opponent," Redick said of Minnesota. "They're one of the best teams in basketball.

"It's not to say our guys weren't ready to withstand a playoff-level basketball game. We were mentally ready. I thought our spirit was right.

"I thought even when they made runs, our huddles were great. The communication was great.

"I'm not sure physically we were ready, if that makes sense. And really, when they started playing with a lot of thrust and physicality, we just didn't respond to meet that."

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Jaden McDaniels scored 25 points for Minnesota on 11-for-13 shooting, while Anthony Edwards got 22 despite cramping in his left calf.

The Timberwolves also made a playoff franchise-high 21 3-pointers in the win. They had never made more than 18 before.

Edwards noted that the added physicality in the game was something the Timberwolves had thought about, as they aimed to straddle the line between pushing boundaries and not finding themselves in foul trouble.

"Just tried to be as physical as possible," Edwards said.

"The main thing for us was, we didn't want them to get into the bonus early.

"Because ... you see a couple free throws go in, Luka gets into a rhythm, Bron gets into a rhythm."

Los Angeles will aim to even the series at home in Tuesday’s Game 2.