The Minnesota Timberwolves will face the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday, May 26, 2024 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
How to watch: Fans can watch the match for free through a DirecTV Stream trial or a subscription to SlingTV, which is offering $25 off the first month on any package and a three-month subscription for just $90.
Here’s what you need to know:
what: Western Conference Finals
Who: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Dallas Mavericks
when: Sunday, May 26, 2024 (5/26/24)
where: American Airlines Center
time: 8pm ET
tv set: TNTNT
Channel Finder: Verizon Fios, DirectTV Stream, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altis, Cox, DirecTV, dish, Hulu, Fubo TV, Sling.
Live Stream: SlingTV and DirecTV Stream
Here are some recent NBA articles from the AP:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kyrie Irving injected an explosive energy into the Dallas Mavericks, unleashing a ferocious drive to the basket to open their Western Conference finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
When the shooting stopped in the second half, Irving’s improved and refreshed form was on full display as he led Luka Doncic and the Mavericks to a Game 1 victory.
With an NBA championship under his belt and 87 career playoff games under his belt, Irving has experience in this part of the postseason that neither team in this series can match.
“I’ve been to mountain tops. I’ve been successful. I’ve been unsuccessful. So I look at this moment as an opportunity to help other guys calm down and realize what this is all about,” Irving said.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft, Irving appeared in three consecutive NBA Finals with Cleveland from 2015-17, but that team was without LeBron James. Irving was just 24 when the Cavaliers won in 2016. The controversy, injuries and trades that have colored his career since then are starting to come undone this spring as the Mavericks have won each postseason victory.
“This is just a new chapter in my life. I was young and I think people hung onto things I said and did at the time, but now that I’m 32, I’ve gotten over that mountain a little bit and realized that basketball is the sport I’m meant to play,” Irving said. “And in order for that to happen, other guys have to be better too. I can’t just score baskets and worry about myself.”
Irving scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half of Wednesday night’s 108-105 win. He made 11 of 14 shots, including five layups and four floaters from 5-10 feet, as the Mavericks pulled NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert out of the rim-protection zone and continually shook off defenders in the pick-and-roll.
“I’ve been in this game before, so I’m just looking to come out there with a little more poise, confidence and aggressiveness,” said Irving, who also played a key role in the team’s defense, holding All-NBA Second Team selection Anthony Edwards to 19 points and just four shots from the 3-point line.
The 22-year-old Edwards, whose youthful confidence and prodigious athleticism have propelled him into the league’s biggest stars, caused a bit of a stir after Minnesota beat Denver by declaring, “I’ve got Kyrie” in a live postgame interview on TNT.
Given the disparity in their performances in Game 1, the natural line would have been that Edwards foolishly provoked his opponent with such a bold statement, but Irving wasn’t buying it.
“The fearless spirit that he has is why I respect him as a competitor and as a person,” Irving said. “When I step on the court, I know he’s going to give it his all, and I’m going to give it my all. At the end of the game, you know it’s all about love, but when we’re inside the lines, he and I both know what it’s about.”
Edwards said after the game that he was exhausted, not a surprising admission considering how many defenders Dallas (like Denver did last time) had on him every time he made a move toward the basket. Tracking Irving defensively is also a challenge.
“We’re not going to stop him,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said, “we’re just going to make it tough for him.”
Edwards and fellow Timberwolves guards Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker combined to make 9 of 29 field goals and 6 of 26 3-pointers. An astonishing 49 of Minnesota’s 89 shots were 3-pointers, a team record for the 2023-24 season in both the regular season and playoffs.
The Timberwolves were concerned about their defensive effort in the first half and their offensive production late in the game, but not so much about their increased reliance on outside shooting, which coach Chris Finch and his staff attacked relentlessly in an intense video session Thursday in preparation for Game 2 on Friday night at Target Center.
“I said to the guys, ‘It’s been a while since I’ve been so disappointed in your effort. Your performance, your attitude, your enthusiasm, your attention to detail just wasn’t there,'” Finch said. “The Western Conference finals are on. I don’t know if they got that memo, but they got it this afternoon.”
The 62-38 scoring advantage the Mavericks enjoyed in the paint still hurt.
“We’re the No. 1 defensive team in the league, so giving up 108 points is too much for an opponent to handle,” Timberwolves reserve center Naz Reid said. “I just thought we weren’t effective defensively.”
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