MINNEAPOLIS — The Dallas Mavericks rode its dynamic guard duo and dominated the paint area against Minnesota to steal home court advantage from the Timberwolves in a Game 1 win.
Dallas led by as many as eight about halfway through the fourth quarter, but Anthony Edwards came to life down the stretch after being held in check for most of the game. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving did not go down lightly, however, trading big shot for big shot in the waning moments.
A 14-foot step back jump shot by Doncic put the Mavs ahead by four with only 49 seconds left. Naz Reid narrowed the deficit to two, but Irving went to the line to put Dallas back up by four with only seven seconds to go. On the ensuing possession, Mike Conley Jr. was fouled while shooting a 3-point shot.
Down by four, Conley Jr. made the first free throw, but missed the second and third.
In the end, Dallas held off Minnesota's late-game push and won a thriller, 108-105.
Doncic and Irving kept the Mavericks in the game from the jump. The guard duo scored 38 of Dallas' 59 first half points, accentuated by Irving's and-one layup before the halftime buzzer sounded. On Minnesota's side, role players stepped up in a big way. Jaden McDaniels and Kyle Anderson combined to be 12-for-17 from the field, draining 6-of-9 from the 3-point line. McDaniels had 19 points at halftime and Anderson had 11. McDaniels finished the game with 24 points, and Anderson didn't score again for the rest of the game.
Irving finished the game with 30 points and four assists. Doncic logged 33 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
As a team, Dallas shot the ball very poorly from the 3-point line (6-25, 24%), but ironically dominated the paint area against Minnesota's seven-foot twin towers in Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. Dallas outscored Minnesota 62-36 in the paint, and Dallas out-rebounded Minnesota 48-40.
Edwards finished the game with 19 points (6-16 shooting, 5-12 from 3-point), 11 rebounds and eight assists.
For a look at how each team's players have played against their respective Western Conference Finals opponent in their careers, click here.
Doncic and Edwards were named to All-NBA First Team and Second Team, respectively, hours before tip-off of Game 1. For Doncic, it was his fifth consecutive All-NBA First Team honor, the most in franchise history.
The Mavs and Timberwolves will tip-off Game 2 from the Target Center in Minneapolis on Friday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. CST. The game will be aired on TNT.
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