MINNEAPOLIS — After losing every first-round game of the postseason to date, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-105 in front of a rapturous crowd at Target Center. Luka Doncic made some key plays late, finishing with 33 points, eight assists and six rebounds, while Kyrie Irving was key to a hot start, totaling 30 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Irving clearly emphasized being aggressive in this game, going downhill early and often. He hit a number of short-range jumpers and contact finishes, including an and-one in the first quarter for a total of 13 points. That was more than triple the amount of points he had scored in the first quarter this postseason, when his most points were four in three games.
“I’ve been here before, so I’ve got to lead the team. I’ve got to get off to a good start and set a precedent,” Irving told TNT’s Arie LaForce.
After Edwards hit a pull-up three-pointer in transition on Green, the Timberwolves led 21-12, their largest lead of the period. Minnesota had a strong first period with three-pointers, making 6-of-11 (54.5%) compared to 1-of-7 (14.3%) for Dallas. Irving quickly got the Mavericks going, scoring 12 straight points to take a 23-21 lead. Minnesota played strong late in the first period, outscoring Dallas 10-6 to retake the lead.
Dallas had some dynamic plays at times, but struggled to convert them into points. One example of this was in the second quarter when Doncic used a double-drag screening action to take a pull-up 3-pointer to free up space on the wing. But turnovers on no-look passes prevented Dallas from generating any momentum in that stint. Without Irving on the floor, it was difficult for the Mavericks to have consistent success.
Irving went on the offensive again, using a spin move against contact before finding Doncic as a trailer and finishing to cut the lead to 43-41 as Dallas took a timeout with 5:30 left before the half. Irving’s continued focus on attacking off long misses and changes of possession was clear and paid off in a big way.
Irving continued to attack the paint area frequently, and his final scoring play before halftime was an and-one finish, bringing his point total to 24. This is the most points scored in the first half of any game this season. His previous highest score was 22 points in two regular season games. Up until this game, he had averaged just 6.0 points in the first half of the postseason. Doncic had 14 points and five assists, while Washington had eight points.
The big difference in perimeter shooting and unforced errors that led to Mavericks turnovers was a big factor in favor of the Timberwolves in the first half, but Dallas still outshot Minnesota in the second quarter and led just 62-59 at halftime, and was in favor once they settled into the game.
Early in the second half, Dallas sent consecutive passes to Gafford, who was looking for a lob pass in a pick-and-roll. The first pass came when Irving threw a slow, high-arcing lob pass while Gobert was guarding him. Doncic then used a screen from Gortat and made another late lob pass that Gafford finished after the ball screen defender committed to the drive. Minnesota started blitzing, and a turnover led to a transition dunk by McDaniels.
The Mavericks took a 67-66 lead after Towns had to fall back on a hotly contested corner 3-pointer, leading to a Mavericks transition sequence that ended with Jones throwing down an emphatic dunk. . Towns also responded with a putback dunk. Dallas started targeting Mike Conley as a small mismatch and posted up with Washington to make a play, resulting in a shooting foul.
Dallas started targeting Mike Conley as a small mismatch and posted up with Washington to make a play, resulting in a shooting foul.
Up until this point, perimeter shooting had been in Minnesota’s favor. Doncic took a clean look from the side after adjusting on a stacked pick-and-roll, but missed, before Conley hit a 3-pointer on the other side. Doncic took more offense downhill, including drawing a foul after McDaniels hit him in the arm trying to stunt, and snaked toward the paint for a jumper.
Minnesota’s perimeter attack slowed for a while, but Green made a corner three-pointer to turn the game around and give the Mavericks an 80-79 lead at the end of the quarter. But after Doncic slipped through the crowd and made a bounce pass, Green missed a dunk in transition, and Reed made a shot from his own corner. After a strong start, Doncic struggled to make jump shots, so he aggressively attacked the paint area, drove deep against Gobert, and then lobbed a pass to Gafford to tie the score. But Green forced a pass in transition that went out of bounds, drawing a foul on Reed.
The Timberwolves continued to attack from the perimeter, opening the final period with two shots by Reed and McDaniels. Minnesota initially outscored Dallas 6-2 and established a five-point lead, going into a timeout with 10 minutes and 51 seconds left in regulation. Dallas jumped out to a 91-89 lead early in the fourth period as Derek Lively II made a defensive stop on Gobert in the paint and Doncic heated up significantly with a jumper. It started with two jumpers in the gap off a pick-and-roll, followed by a step-back 3-pointer.
Lively continued to make a big impact in the paint on both ends. Even with Reid and Towns on the court, Dallas forced Edwards to throw a sprayout pass out of bounds after Gobert was brought down. He then flashed a putback home to further extend the momentum, and Doncic forced a foul on Gobert with a Gortat screen.
Minnesota wouldn’t give up, scoring with Edwards hitting a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound, followed by Towns taking advantage of a bump in the post for a difficult fadeaway jumper. Despite a couple of misses from deep, Towns tossed a big-to-big lob pass to Gobert to pull within one, and then Towns hit a 3-pointer to give Minnesota a 99-98 lead going into a timeout.
The clutch moments left very little room for error on either side. After Irving missed a pull-up 3 off a ball screen, Edwards responded with a pull-up 3 of his own. Doncic then drained a step-back 3-pointer in the ensuing contest with Edwards to make it a one-point game.
After going completely unhinged on the early offensive end, Washington put Dallas back in the lead at 104-102 with a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the corner. Towns nearly tied the score with a strong putback, but it was negated by basket interference. Lively was called for traveling while playing off a short roll.
Dallas closed the game out defensively, with Towns setting up a flare screen to target Doncic as a low defender, and then Doncic lobbed a pass to Gobert near the rim, who again answered the call with a short-range step-back.
Minnesota inbounded the ball with 17.5 seconds left, and a wild shot by Towns ended the possession, but the lead continued with a putback. They were down two points until Irving was fouled and made a perfect dive to the free throw line to put them back up by four. Conley drew a three-shot foul and made the first but missed the second and third, but Minnesota was already behind with 1.1 seconds left.
Looking ahead, the series is scheduled to continue Friday with Game 2 at Target Center.
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