Luka Doncic scores 15 in fourth to power Mavericks over Minnesota in Game 1 thriller
The Dallas Mavericks took a 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals against Minnesota for one major reason. When it mattered in the fourth quarter, they had Luka Doncic and the Timberwolves didn’t.
Doncic, who was named to the All- NBA first team for the fifth straight season earlier in the day, was brilliant with 15 fourth quarter points in the Mavericks’ thrilling 108-105 win against Minnesota Wednesday night.
There was a bit of irony to the timing of Doncic’s 33-point performance.
Earlier in the day TheRinger.com published its ranking of the top players under 25 and Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was ranked higher than Doncic despite the Mavericks’ guard having a better resume at this point in their respective careers.
Doncic finished strong and his 15 fourth-quarter points were almost more than Edwards scored (19) in the entire game.
Doncic was hard to guard, nailed clutch shots and even made two big defensive plays down the stretch.
Before the fourth, Doncic was struggling to make an impact as the defense of Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert made life tough on him in the first three quarters.
He had the worst plus-minus for Dallas but Kyrie Irving’s 24 first-half points kept the Mavericks in the game.
In the final 12 minutes, however, Doncic flipped the switch. Minnesota was gearing up for a knockout punch early in the fourth with a 89-84 lead, but Doncic refused to let it happen.
Doncic went on a 7-0 run punctuated by a deep 3-pointer that put Dallas back in the lead. That run was part of a 13-0 Mavs’ run with Doncic scoring or assisting on 11 of those points.
The Timberwolves responded by going on a run of their own as they held the Mavericks without a field goal for over four minutes. After Karl Anthony Towns drilled a 3-pointer to move Minnesota ahead 99-98 with 4:39 remaining, Dallas was forced to call a timeout and regroup.
Would this be a repeat of their Game 4 loss against Oklahoma City where their offense melted down in the fourth quarter and they let a winnable game slip away?
After the timeout Edwards made a play and knocked down a 3 and the the game was beginning to get away from the Mavericks.
Doncic answered Edwards’ 3 with one of his own with Edwards all over him. Then Doncic picked off a wild pass from McDaniels and while in transition he made a smart play to find a wide open P.J. Washington in the corner for a 3-pointer that put Dallas back in front 104-102 with less than two minutes remaining.
Doncic delivered the dagger a minute later as Mike Conley tried to throw up an alley-oop lob to Gobert, but it was picked off by Doncic. On the next possession Doncic sized up McDaniels, took him to the mid-range and created just enough space with his shoulder to knock down another jumper.
While Doncic made big plays late and Kyrie Irving broke out for 30 points against Minnesota’s elite defense, the Mavericks’ frontcourt trio of Washington, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively were able to match the physicality and production of Gobert, Towns and Naz Reid.
Dallas won despite making only six of 25 3-point attempts (24%), while Minnesota made 18 of 39 3-pointers (37%).
The Mavericks made critical free throws down the stretch and 16 of 17 overall (94.1%) compared to Minnesota’s 11 of 18.
Game 2 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday in Minneapolis.
The Timberwolves have shown how resilient they are after storming back from a 3-2 deficit and winning a Game 7 on the road in Denver, but the Mavericks are one step closer to the NBA Finals after Wednesday’s win.
