25 May 2024
There’s a moment from last season that has thrilled Wolves fans for a year plus. Dallas had the ball with a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, and Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards stonewalled Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, forcing a turnover to secure Minnesota’s victory.
With a chance to repeat history Friday, Minnesota couldn’t get the same stop.
Down two in the closing seconds, Doncic forced a switch onto Rudy Gobert, stepped back to fire from behind the 3-point line and drilled it with three second to play.
Naz Reid then missed a good look at the horn on the other end, as Dallas rallied for a 109-108 victory at Target Center to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Trailing by seven to start the fourth quarter, Dallas opened the period on an 8-0 run to take the lead and force a Minnesota timeout. That started a back-and-forth affair in which the two teams traded blows offensively.
Finally, Dallas flinched in the final two minutes.
On one possession, Derrick Jones Jr. and Kyrie Irving missed open triples. Then, Irving got to the free-throw line but missed twice. On the other end, Anthony Edwards attacked twice and got to the free-throw line both times, hitting all four attempts to stretch the lead to five with 90 seconds to play.
Ballgame, right? Not against these Mavericks.
Irving hit a triple, Dallas got multiple stops — including forcing a turnover by Edwards — and the Mavericks had the ball down two with 12.8 seconds to play. Then it was Doncic time.
Minnesota simply cannot end up in clutch-time situations against two of the league’s great late-game assassins. Doncic finished with 32 points, 13 assists and 10 boards.
At one point early in the fourth quarter, Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns were a combined 8 for 32 from the floor.
Minnesota decided to sit Towns in favor of Naz Reid down the stretch, while Edwards was largely moved off the ball. Both were necessary decisions. Reid missed his last attempt but did drill seven triples. Minnesota’s best offense was run by Mike Conley, who tallied 18 points.
Minnesota led by as many as 18 late in the second quarter. The Timberwolves were imposing their will on the defensive end and generating good offense. It looked like a patented Wolves’ playoff blowout.
But Dallas closed the half on an 8-2 run to get within 12 at the break and continued to make just enough plays to hang around and position itself for a run. The run was made, and now Minnesota heads to Dallas firmly on the ropes.
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