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Luka Doncic Leads Mavericks to Victory over Timberwolves in Game One of Western Conference Finals
According to Luka Doncic (25), the Dallas Mavericks’ win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game One of the Western Conference finals resembled a relay race.
Kyrie Irving’s explosive start with 24 first-half points set the pace for Dallas, while Doncic took charge in the second half, contributing 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to secure a 108-105 win on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
Doncic praised Irving’s contribution, stating, “(Kyrie) got us going. Without him, we’d probably be down 20 at half-time, so he got us going. So I had to help him in the second half a little bit.”
Irving finished with 30 points on 12-for-23 shooting for Dallas, with Daniel Gafford (10 points, nine rebounds) and Dereck Lively II (nine points, 11 rebounds) narrowly missing double-doubles.
Jaden McDaniels led the Timberwolves with 24 points, including six three-pointers out of nine attempts. Anthony Edwards recorded 19 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, while Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 16 points.
The Mavericks shot 49.4% from the field for the game, outscoring Minnesota 26-22 in the fourth quarter to secure the three-point victory.
Edwards admitted that maintaining energy throughout the game was a challenge, possibly due to fatigue from their comeback win over the Denver Nuggets in Game Seven of the conference semifinals.
“Yeah, for sure,” Edwards said. “You all can see it. We were a step behind everybody, especially myself. Kyrie got a transition layup… and he just outran me. I was just exhausted. So yeah, for sure. But we’ll be all right.”
Dallas went on a crucial 13-0 run to take a 97-89 lead with 7:38 to go, with Doncic scoring seven straight points to start the run and finishing it with a pair of free throws.
Despite a strong response from Minnesota, including a 10-1 run to take a brief lead, the Mavericks held on to win. Doncic’s clutch baskets down the stretch, including back-to-back three-pointers, proved decisive.
The teams will face off again on Friday night for Game Two.
“That’s only one,” Doncic emphasized. “We’ve got three more to go.”
