NBA
Play it again, Luka
In another exciting finale, the Slovenian emerged to dispel doubts and put the Wolves on the brink of elimination. Kyrie, key again. Absolute disaster from Towns.
There are 154 precedents for seeing a 3-0 in the NBA playoffs. And they have all ended the same: with victory for the team that had said advantage. The Celtics threatened to break the streak in last year’s Eastern finals, but the Heat conquered the Garden in the seventh. It is the recent occasion that has come closest to overturning a result from which it seems impossible for the Timberwolves to recover. They are dull and cold, and they have had an enormous loss of three tied finals, one with a basket on the penultimate play that was the winner. The one who scored, of course, was Luka Doncic: the Slovenian player was a doubt until shortly before starting the match as he had a problem with a knee injury, but he continues to make history in each game and is one step away from playing in his first Finals. They would be, by the way, the third for the Mavericks after those of 2006 and 2011. They were victorious on one occasion, the second, with Dirk Nowitzki as the messiah. The rival then, the Heat, was a clear favorite. So are the Celtics, who manage another 3-0 in the Eastern finals. But the bets don’t always come true. And you have to be bold to risk money against Doncic... and Kyrie Irving.
The guard is the other leg supporting the table, and the other is the motorcycle wheel. The perfect lieutenant for the Balkan star and the ideal leader when necessary. Appearing at the beginning of games if necessary and at key moments when no one manages to score. Last night was the same story: Doncic scored 33 points, and Kyrie scored 33, marking the third time in these playoffs that both reached thirty, the third-best mark for a couple in history. And playing almost the same minutes: 41:12 the first and 41:46 the second. They scored 66 of the team’s 116 points, 20 of 29 in the last quarter, with 6 from the Slovenian and 14 from the North American, who came out when he had to. Again, a thousand times and if necessary a million more. To be eternal, you have to transcend, and that’s where these two basketball monsters are. Stan Van Gundy insisted on the argument he gave in the second round and said again that they are the best offensive outside pairing in NBA history. Well, precisely that.
The Mavericks never let up during the game. They started strong, with Dereck Lively playing initially, but Daniel Gafford quickly replaced him. However, Lively had to leave the game after accidentally colliding with Karl-Anthony Towns, scoring 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block before his exit. With basketball legends Dirk Nowitzki and Shaquille O’Neal watching from the stands, the Mavericks felt the absence of their energetic young player and struggled in the third quarter, falling behind 27-35. They had been up by 12 points at halftime. The score was tied at 87-87 going into the fourth quarter, and the game remained close until the Mavericks pulled ahead, winning 116-107. In the final minutes, the Wolves couldn’t keep up with the Mavericks’ strong play, scoring only one basket while the Mavericks scored 12 points. Anthony Edwards scored for the Wolves, but it wasn’t enough. The Mavericks emerged victorious.
Stars and stars
The Mavericks had everything that the Timberwolves did not. The stars on one side performed well, while those on the other did not. Irving scored 33 points, along with 3 rebounds and 4 assists. He made 12 of 20 field goals, 3 of 6 three-pointers, and 6 of 8 free throws. Doncic contributed with 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, and an alley-oop to Gafford. He made 10 of 20 field goals, 5 of 11 three-pointers, and 8 of 10 free throws. Additionally, PJ Washington scored 16 points and Derrick Jones scored 11, including 3 successful three-pointers, adding to the Mavericks’ impressive performance, shooting 50% from beyond the arc.
The Timberwolves had a tough game. Anthony Edwards tried to be aggressive but had no luck, scoring 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists in 43 minutes. Mike Conley scored 16 points, Jaden McDaniels scored 15, Naz Reid scored 14, and Kyle Anderson scored 11 in 16 minutes. The team performed best when Kyle Anderson was on the court and Rudy Gobert was not playing, but things changed when Gobert returned. Unfortunately, Karl-Anthony Towns had a bad game, scoring 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists, but shooting only 5 for 18 from the field and 0 for 8 from three-point range.