LOS ANGELES — When Luka Doncic scored 16 points in the first quarter of his playoff debut with his new team, the Los Angeles Lakers’ downtown arena crackled with excitement from fans probably imagining dream scenarios for their team and its new superstar this spring.The Timberwolves made sure that dream got ugly quite quickly in Game 1. They also left the Lakers looking for ways to help Doncic before Minnesota runs away with this first-round series.Doncic scored 37 points and eight rebounds, but it wasn’t nearly enough to counter the Wolves’ balanced scoring in their 117-95 victory Saturday night.After an impressive start by their Slovenian superstar, the Lakers were comprehensively embarrassed during their first postseason Game 1 in front of a full home arena since 2012. Los Angeles didn’t demonstrate the toughness necessary to hang with the physical, veteran Wolves on defense — and only Doncic produced an impressive game on offense.The combination led to a 27-point deficit in the second half and a laugher of a victory for the Wolves, who immediately seized homecourt advantage in the series after finishing just one win behind the Lakers in the regular season.“They’re a great opponent,” JJ Redick said after losing …
