Luka Doncic had an amazing start in the first quarter, scoring 20 points and ending with a total of 36 points in the game. This helped the Dallas Mavericks win 124-103 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals, finishing the series in five games.
Kyrie Irving also played a significant role, scoring 36 points for the Mavericks. They dominated the first half, taking a huge 29-point lead while shooting 61%, which quieted down the excited crowd.
During the third quarter, the Mavericks extended their lead to 36 points, causing confusion for the Timberwolves on offense.
The Mavericks, seeded fifth in the West, now have a week off before the NBA Finals start in Boston on June 6. This is their first appearance in the finals since winning the championship in 2011.
On the other hand, the Celtics, who swept Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals, will have had a 10-day break between games.
Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Despite their earlier successes against Phoenix and Denver, they struggled against the strong offense of Doncic and Irving.
Irving has an impressive record of 15-1 in closeout games in the playoffs.
Doncic set a confident tone from the beginning, making four consecutive shots, including long-range ones from 28 and 31 feet. He even engaged with fans courtside after each successful shot. By the end of the first quarter, the Mavericks had gone on a 17-1 run, extending it to 28-5 over nine minutes.
This wasn’t Doncic’s first remarkable quarter in the playoffs, as he previously scored 21 points in the fourth quarter of the Western Conference finals in 2022 against Golden State.
