The play-in tournament opener was a hot, tipsy mess. The Minnesota Timberwolves rolled into Southern Cali on Monday while the fallout from their chaotic regular-season finale exploded in email inboxes like a reaction video gone wrong. First, Minnesota announced it had benched center Rudy Gobert for one game after he Tyson-ed teammate Kyle Anderson during a win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. Then, forward Jaden McDaniels got diagnosed with double bone-itis in his right hand after Mike Tyson-ing a wall in frustration during the same game.

Those ill-timed Kermit punches set the stage for a Tuesday night filled with sad trombones and self-flagellation, as the Timberwolves blew a 15-point lead in a 108-102 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in a play-in game at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers caught the W, completing a dramatic turnaround from their 2-10 season start and securing the West’s No. 7 seed and a first-round playdate with the Memphis Grizzlies.

But the drama didn’t end there—the Lakers played the most dangerously close game of not-today-Murphy’s-Law. LeBron James and crew started the game like an awkward middle school dance, making only one of their first 10 shots and snoozing on defense in the first half. As the ugly contest got even uglier in the fourth quarter and trudged into overtime, the Lakers kept almost handing the game to their enemies like a “kick me” sign on their back—it was that kind of night.

This one will haunt Minnesota like a reality ghost show because they came into the scene ready to float like butterflies and sting like bees. Timberwolves Coach Chris Finch said pregame that Gobert and Anderson apologized, fist-bumped, and buried the punchy hatchet. Before the game, Coach Finch told the press that the decision to bench Gobert was “pretty simple,” and then threw out a gleeful pun when he predicted a strong response to the drama: “We have fighters,” he cracked a smile.

Minus Gobert, the paint-hog, Minnesota initially turned back the clock, looking a lot like last year when their shoot-from-outer-space offense and yo-yo style weirded out opponents. But in the end, the Timberwolves’ resolve vanished like a used tissue thrown by a rogue gust of wind. The wheezing Lakers eked out the win in the extra period 10-4 but not without a dash of last-minute clownery.

Now Minnesota must hulk-smash through another play-in game against the winner of Wednesday’s play-in between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Gobert is expected to suit up for that Friday-night elimination, where the winner will snatch the West’s No. 8 seed and face the top-seeded Denver Nuggets.

The Timberwolves’ flame-out could’ve blown out the Phoenix Suns if not for Schröder, who channelled his inner Hulk Hogan and scored 21 points off the bench, replacing an ineffective Russell. The Lakers escaped the jaws of a second play-in game, and now they’ll get some Hallmark movie downtime before Game 1 in Memphis on Sunday. Ja Morant’s Grizzlies are a vulnerable and wounded group—Lakers, feast your eyes on your next playdate. But beware: you can’t Marvin-and-Schultz your way through the matches to come.