Down two against the Minnesota Timberwolves, 108-106, with 11 seconds remaining in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, it was no surprise that the Dallas Mavericks went to Luka Doncic.
Doncic was in the midst of yet another strong night, posting his fourth triple double in five games. Though he had yet to hit a field goal in the fourth quarter up until this point in the match, he was still in rhythm as he had tallied five assists over the course of the period.
The five-time All-NBA First Team member was covered by Jaden McDaniels with a little over 10 seconds remaining in the match, but Dereck Lively came over for a screen that forced reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert to switch over to him. This was clearly the match-up that Doncic wanted and he immediately went to work on Gobert, crossing him over four times before taking–and making–a step-back three-pointer with three seconds left on the clock.
The Timberwolves had one last chance to win the game, but Naz Reid missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.
The Mavericks came away with a 109-108 win in Game 2 to extend their lead in this series to 2-0. Doncic finished with 32 points, five three-pointers, seven-of-seven free throws, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists in this hard-fought game that saw Dallas trail by as much as 18 points in the second quarter.
Before Doncic’s shot, Kyrie Irving led the charge for the Mavericks for the majority of the fourth quarter as he scored 13 of his 20 points in a final period that saw a whopping 11 lead changes. He also had four three-pointers, four rebounds, six assists, and a steal over the course of Game 2.
Dallas received strong contributions as well from Daniel Gafford who had 16 points on eight-of-10 shots and five rebounds, and Lively who added 14 points on six-of-six field goals, nine rebounds, and two assists.
The Mavericks pulled together another strong defensive outing as they limited Anthony Edwards (Five-of-17 field goal shooting) and Karl-Anthony Towns (Four-of-16) to a second consecutive poor shooting night. With both players struggling, Reid stepped up as he led Minnesota with 23 points on seven-of-nine three-pointers off the bench.
The series will now shift to Dallas for the next two games which gives them a perfect opportunity to end this in a sweep. The Mavericks have looked like a team of destiny this postseason as the fiery combination of Doncic and Irving together with their strong defense has allowed this team to overachieve.
However, the Timberwolves have been excellent on the road this season, having won five of their six games away from home in these playoffs, so the Mavericks must remain wary.
