MINNEAPOLIS — Despite trailing by as many as 18 points, the Dallas Mavericks chipped away at the Minnesota Timberwolves’ advantage with a chance to take a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals. Luka Doncic, who had 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, had the ball 12.1 seconds after a timeout and trailed 108-106. He sealed the victory with a magical step-back 3-pointer to seal the win, 109-108.
“Luka has the ability to create space and when you’re in those moments with Luka, you just love that stage,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “He didn’t back away from it and he made the big shot and I thought he made some great plays throughout the game to keep the team together…Luka’s a special player and I love those moments.”
The Mavericks expected Minnesota to switch on their final possession, Gobert or not. They were confident that if Doncic got the ball in a position where he was in rhythm and had the space to take the final shot, they would have a chance to win the game. As soon as Dallas inbounded the ball, they deployed Derek Lively II as a screener to get him involved in the action and gauge whether Minnesota was willing to continue with the switch. As expected, Gobert switched.
“We started off by getting the ball, setting screens and executing,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “We felt they were going to go ‘red’ with Rudy (Gobert) or somebody, which is what they pretty much did in the fourth quarter. We just wanted to give Luka the ball, give him space and let him do what he wanted to do.”
With Lively rushing to the rim and bringing Jaden McDaniels with him, it created the space Doncic was looking for to play in isolation.
“I saw the space, I decided to take the 3-pointer,” said Doncic, who led the Mavericks to the third-biggest playoff comeback in franchise history. “I got back in my position, took a step back and that was it.”
Gobert was focused on responding to Doncic’s step back to his left, wary of the threat of a drive from the right-hander. Naturally, that left him vulnerable to Doncic and showed why he’s such a threat. After convincing Doncic to go left, he decided to step back to his right, countered with a crotch dribble and ultimately made the shot.
“I think he made the step back because he attacked the paint a lot,” Kidd said. “Rudy’s got to respect that.”
Doncic’s artistry is a prime example of how he adds another layer to his arsenal as a shot creator, one that can be deployed on the fly as the situation demands, rather than having a predetermined approach. Gobert’s approach was reasonable for most outcomes, but it was most rarely used to make the four-time Defensive Player of the Year pay.
“I don’t decide what I’m going to see before the play, I just see what the defense shows me,” Doncic said.
Doncic said he didn’t expect the Timberwolves to switch on their final possession — he was prepared to run the pick-and-roll with Lively but went with his instincts after seeing Gobert guarding him on the perimeter after the switch.
“I didn’t think they were going to switch. We were going to play pick-and-roll. I [Lively] Just come and let’s think about it from there. That’s it. Read the defense.”
On the previous attempt, Gobert completely blocked Doncic on the right side while providing help in front of the basket, eliminating the possibility of Doncic stepping back to the left. Doncic attacked downhill and slipped into a gap to avoid Anderson’s help. This allowed Naz Reid to help out at the dunker spot and contest a short-range step back, which Doncic missed. This is a sound defensive approach and is consistent with Minnesota coach Chris Finch’s strategy of wanting to see what happened, not what happened, on Doncic’s game-defining shot. This is why the Timberwolves were content to not call a double play on him.
“No, the idea was to switch and get pressure on him inside the 3-point line,” Finch said.
Going back even further than the last two plays, Kyrie Irving’s catch-and-shoot 3-pointer with Dallas down by five in clutch time was the result of Doncic being double-teamed late in the game. It started with Lively, guarded by Anderson, setting a screen to pull McDaniels away from Doncic. Minnesota showed pinpoint help early on, even though Irving was deep off the line on the weak-side wing. Doncic drew pinpoint help, sent a bounce pass to Irving, who charged downhill and touched the paint before passing to Derrick Jones Jr., who passed back to Doncic at the top of the key, and Minnesota double-teamed him. He evaded the defense with a pass fake and found Irving for a crucial jump shot late in the game. Given Doncic’s talent as a passer, this is a great example of the danger of double-teaming him.
Markieff Morris stressed that even though Gobert is an elite defender, it’s naturally going to be hard for a 7-footer to contain Doncic in space. Morris is confident that if Minnesota brings Gobert in and doesn’t double-team him, the Mavericks can make whatever play they want out of that situation.
“No disrespect to Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, but if he was guarding Luka 40 feet from the basket, we were winning every time,” Morris told MavericksGameday.com. “Long threes, layups, we could get whatever we wanted if they tried to do something different. We’ve seen it before on that play. We challenged them to do it again on the next play and they did it, and we’ll see what happens.”
Irving is used to making big shots in key moments, most famously his game-winning 3-pointer over Stephen Curry in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. Irving saw Gobert switch on Doncic and knew what was coming, trusting his superstar teammate every step of the way.
“I have the utmost confidence in my brother,” Irving said of Doncic. “He got a great switch. [with] “Rudy, I know exactly what he was thinking. He was just getting ready for the magic to happen. He shot the ball with the confidence he always does and led us to the win tonight. This is one of those wins that we can look back on and be really proud of ourselves and the little things that it took to get us tonight.”
“He’s prepared for these moments, he’s trained for these moments,” Irving explained, “so these things happen. I’m not surprised, but I’m just so proud as a brother. I want to thank him for bringing us home tonight.”
While outsiders might project the Mavericks and Boston Celtics as opponents in the 2024 NBA Finals, Irving stressed the need to stay focused on the task at hand. Even with the next two games at the American Airlines Center, a 2-0 series lead could be lost as quickly as it was gained. He wanted the celebration to end when the team got on the plane back to Dallas.
“We can go to Game 3, but we know this is not the time to be complacent,” Irving said. “We have 40 minutes to celebrate, and then we’ve got to get on this plane and go back to Dallas and get ready for another tough game, because that team isn’t going to give up and we all know what they’re made of.”
Doncic echoed Irving’s sentiment about the Mavericks not accomplishing anything yet, saying, “That’s great, but like I said, it’s first-to-four.” [wins]we don’t win anything. We have to think only about the next game, not about the future… We have to think only about the next game. That’s it.”
Even after Doncic’s big shot, the Timberwolves had a chance to take a game-winning shot of their own. Despite having made seven 3-pointers already in the game, Reid missed the chance to take the final shot.
“I wasn’t thinking about anything. I just kind of blacked out,” Doncic said. “It felt good. It felt too good. Oh my God. I can’t make any mistakes today.”
The late performance capped an “incredible” comeback that showed the determination not just of Doncic but of the entire team.
“As I always say, keep the positive energy together. [points] “It’s tough to come back from an away game,” Doncic said. “I’m going to keep believing until the buzzer goes off.”
The Mavericks will face the Timberwolves on Sunday in Game 3 of the series with a chance to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.
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