After surviving the grueling semifinals, the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves are now the last two teams standing in the Western Conference. Dallas reached this stage by sending home the top-seeded OKC Thunder while Minnesota joined its opponents by dethroning the Denver Nuggets. Game 1 will be at Target Center which last hosted the conference finals during the Kevin Garnett era 20 years ago.
Dallas Mavericks vs Minnesota Timberwolves game player stats and box scores
Dallas Mavericks game player stats and box scores
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Minnesota Timberwolves game player stats and box scores
Dallas Mavericks vs Minnesota Timberwolves Game Summary
The Minnesota Timberwolves had a fast start and even took a 16-8 lead against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1. Jaden McDaniels' nine points off three trifectas boosted the hosts' superb opening. Dallas kept in step, unsurprisingly behind Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Minnesota had a 33-27 lead after the first 12 minutes ended.
McDaniels' assault from deep continued in the second quarter. Minnesota's defensive ace repeatedly kept punishing the Mavs for sagging off him to pack the paint against Anthony Edwards. He added one more to his total to lead the home team with 19 points in the first half.
Kyrie Irving wouldn't allow the Timberwolves to just pull away. After having a rough shooting series versus the OKC Thunder, "Uncle Drew" seemed to have regained his shooting touch. He raced out of the gates with 24 first-half points but Dallas still trailed 62-59 leading into the halftime break.
The third quarter was a defensive struggle between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Dallas is showing that it is not too far behind the Wolves on that end with the way they rotated, particularly against actions involving Anthony Edwards. Minnesota retained a slim 83-82 lead with the fourth quarter underway.
The first five minutes of the final frame was when the Mavericks tried to pull away. Luka Doncic's free throws made it 97-89. Minnesota responded with an 11-1 blast that was capped off by an Anthony Edwards 25-footer. Doncic answered with a step-back 25-foot triple to inch closer 102-101.
The final two minutes were frenetic with P.J. Washington answering the bell in clutch time yet again for the Dallas Mavericks. He drained a 23-foot set shot to push the visitors to a 104-102 lead. Another "Luka Legend" middy added more cushion to the Mavericks with 49.0 seconds to go.
Both teams exchanged crucial misses before Naz Reid's tip allowed the Minnesota Timberwolves to cut the deficit to 106-104. It became a free throw contest from there as Kyrie Irving and Mike Conley took trips to the 4.5-meter line.
The Mavericks eventually held on to a 108-105 victory to steal Game 1 from the Timberwolves.
Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns' 3-pointers tonight
Luka Doncic made just 1-of-6 tries from deep while Kyrie Irving misfired the only attempt he took from the same range.
Anthony Edwards was the most prolific among the four, making 3-of-5 triples while Karl-Anthony Towns had a 1-for-3 line from the same distance.
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