Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 63 points as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 108-105, in Game 1 of the 2024 Western Conference finals on Wednesday. Doncic had 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter as the fifth-seeded Mavs rallied for the win on the road. Irving scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half, and the Mavericks got the win despite shooting 24% (6 for 25) on 3-pointers.
The Timberwolves used a 13-1 run in the fourth quarter to take a 4-point lead with less than four minutes remaining, but Minnesota then went more than three minutes without scoring a point. Wolves star Anthony Edwards was limited to 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Edwards had 8 points in the first quarter and just 11 the rest of the game. Jaden McDaniels had 24 points to lead the Wolves and knocked down six of his nine 3-point attempts. The Wolves shot 18 for 49 from long range, attempting 24 more 3s than the Mavs.
Here are some key takeaways from the game:
Doncic steals the show late
Luka Doncic has not been consistent during this playoff run, in large part due to various injuries. But he showed up when it mattered the most in Game 1, and the Mavericks needed every bit of his greatness. Doncic finished with 33 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
He did most of that damage in the fourth quarter, when he led multiple comebacks. Early in the frame, after the Mavericks fell down by five, Doncic led a 13-0 run in which he scored or assisted on 11 of the points. Then, after the Timberwolves had surged back ahead in the closing minutes to take a 4-point lead, Doncic stepped up again. He led the Mavs on a 10-3 run to close the game, including a dagger jumper with 49 seconds to play.
Over his last three games, Doncic is averaging 31 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.7 assists. This is the Doncic that made First Team All-NBA and finished third in MVP voting. If the Mavericks want to win the series, they'll need this version of their star to stick around.
Irving doesn't wait around
Kyrie Irving has had some incredible moments during the Mavericks' run to the Western Conference finals, but they've often come later in games. Entering Game 1, he was averaging just six points in the first half during the postseason, which ranked 56th among all players.
He did not wait around on Wednesday. Just a few minutes in, he weaved his way into the paint, lofted in a tough fadeaway over Karl-Anthony Towns and never looked back. By the end of the first half, he had racked up 24 points to lead all scorers at the time.
His most important stretch, and one that summed up the Mavericks' resilient effort, came in the closing seconds of the half. After Anthony Edwards buried a triple to put the Timberwolves up by eight, Irving ripped off a personal 5-0 run in a 20-second span, including an and-one at the buzzer to make it a 3-point game at the break.
Timberwolves waste big nights from the supporting cast
Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns are the Timberwolves' 1-2 scoring punch, and together they've combined for 47.7 points per game in the playoffs. They don't really have a go-to third scorer, however, which is why their offensive attack can vary from night-to-night.
When there's trouble, it's usually because Edwards and Towns don't get enough help. The opposite was true in Game 1. Jaden McDaniels and Kyle Anderson were on fire in the first quarter, and those two, along with Naz Reid, combined for 50 points on 19-of-32 shooting from the field.
The Timberwolves are going to rue wasting that big night from the supporting cast, especially considering they had the lead in the final minutes. All they needed was a decent game from either Edwards or Towns, and they likely win. Instead, those two combined for 35 points on 36 shots. It goes without saying, but that's not good enough.
