Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving Lead Mavs Past Timberwolves In Game 1 of Western Conference Finals
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 63 points as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 108-105, in Game 1 of the 2024 Western Conference finals on Wednesday. Doncic had 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter while as Irving scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half, and the Mavericks got the win despite shooting 24% on 3-pointers.
The game started with end to end scoring from both sides. Jaden McDaniels put Dallas down early bur Irving was not going to stay down. He scored 13 points to give his side the lead. In the final two minutes of the first quarter, Wolves went on a 10-2 run to take 33-27.
In the second quarter, Dallas went scoreless for nearly 4 minutes as the Wolves intensified their defense. Irving broke the deadlock with a transition lay-up and a Doncic and-one over Edwards followed by a spinning lay-up. Edwards secured an offensive rebound off a Reid missed free throw and drew a foul of his own followed by a 3 with 32.1 seconds left in the half to extend the lead to 62-54. Irving scored again just before the half. Dallas trailed the Wolves, 62-59.
The Mavericks continued their domination early in the third quarter, opening the second half with a pair of lobs to Gafford, who was more or less quiet in the first half. On the other hand, Wolves matched the Mav’s scoring with a pair of dunks and a layup. Wolves defense clamped down from there, holding Dallas to just 1/4 shooting with two turnovers, and led 83-82 after three quarters as a result.
Wolves increased their lead to five early in the fourth quarter as McDaniels continued the game of his life. After that Doncic came to his own with three straight scores of his own, fueling a personal 7-0 run that put the Mavs Infront. That 7-0 run quickly became 13-0 run after a drive from Jones Jr. and a pair of Doncic free throws.
Edwards managed to re-ignite the stunned crowd with a major three pointer. The Wolves took back the lead temporarily with four straight stops and a three pointer to take 99-98 lead. Back-breaking offensive rebound from Lively resulted in a Doncic step-back 3 with a hand right in his face, answering a banger 3 from Ant on the other end to cut it to one.
Minnesota were compromised for their high wall gifting Washington a free three pointer. Dallas eventually stole the game 108-105 after Doncic knocked away a lob from Conley before draining a tough step-back mid-ranger over McDaniels.
Mavericks v Timberwolves Game 2 Preview:
Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves will lock horns again in Game 2 of Western Conference playoff inside The Target Center in Minnesota. The hosts will be keen to bounce back after the narrow defeat in Game 1 to level the series.
The Timberwolves are a 4.5-point favorite over the Mavericks in NBA playoff odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook. The game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Pacific time (8:30 p.m. Eastern time) and can be seen on TNT.
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
