The Dallas Mavericks are headed to the NBA Finals!
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks are headed to the NBA Finals!
Luka Dončić had a 20-point first quarter on his way to 36 points for his high this postseason, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-103 on Thursday night to breeze through the Western Conference finals in five games. Dončić was named the Western Conference Finals MVP.
Kyrie Irving also scored 36 points for the Mavericks, who built a 29-point halftime lead on 61% shooting to deflate the once-energized crowd before most fans got up for their first snack break. The Mavs went up by as much as 36 in the third quarter, all the while keeping the Timberwolves offense all out of whack.
The Mavs, who had the fifth seed in the West, have a full week to rest before the NBA Finals begin in Boston on June 6 for the franchise's first appearance since winning the championship in 2011. The Celtics will have had 10 days between games after sweeping Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals.
Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the third-seeded Wolves, who met their match with the defense-smashing duo of Doncic and Irving after stifling Phoenix in a first-round sweep and then dethroning defending champion Denver in a seven-game series.
Game 4
- Wolves beat Mavs 105-100, avoiding the sweep
- Karl-Anthony Towns scored 20 of 25 points in the second half
- Anthony Edwards had 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists
- Luka Doncic had 28 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in his sixth triple-double of these playoffs
- Kyrie Irving was 13 of 39 from the field & finished with 16 points
- Naz Reid hit a bucket to push the margin back to five with 11 seconds remaining.
Game 3
- Mavs beat Wolves 116-107 for a 3-0 lead
- Doncic and Irving each scored 33 points
- P.J. Washington started the decisive run with a corner 3-pointer after Doncic passed to Irving, who sent the ball to Washington
- Edwards had 26 points
- Towns scored 14 points but missed all eight 3s
- Doncic was 10 of 20 and 5 of 11 from deep
- Irving made 12 of 20 and 3 of 6 from long-range
Game 2
- Mavs beat Wolves 109-108 for a 2-0 lead
- Doncic posted his fifth triple-double of the playoffs; 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his eighth triple-double in 42 career postseason games for the Mavericks
- Reid went 7 for 9 from 3-point range for 23 points
Game 1
- Mavs beat Wolves 108-105
- Doncic had 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter
- Irving scored 24 of his 30 in the first half
- Jaden McDaniels had his third straight 20-plus-point game with 24 points for the Wolves
- Edwards was stifled for 19 points, adding 11 rebounds and eight assists
- Towns got 16 points and finished 6 for 20 from the floor
- Washington had 13 points and seven rebounds
