Tim Cate, John Krawczynski, Zach Harper, Hunter Patterson
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks to a 116-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 on Sunday, giving Dallas a 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference finals.
Doncic finished with 33 points on 5-of-11 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals, while Irving finished with 33 points on 3-of-6 long-range shots, 4 assists.
Anthony Edwards had his best performance of the series, finishing with a team-high 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Karl-Anthony Towns continued to struggle, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds on 5-of-18 shooting. Towns has yet to score more than 16 points this series.
The Mavericks are one win away from the NBA Finals, with Game 4 set for Tuesday in Dallas.
Dallas' superstar duo wins by a landslide
Dallas was in complete control en route to its third win of three games against Minnesota when a scary moment occurred when Towns accidentally hit Derek Lively II in the head with his knee, sending Lively II out of the game. Lively is out with a sprained neck, and of course the biggest concern centers around his health.
But of course, the Mavericks had to play on without Lively, and while they were up by 10 when Lively left the game, that lead only got smaller throughout the second half without the 20-year-old rookie's calming presence and defensive savvy.
Dallas will once again be tasked with finding a new way to win, born out of a situation the team hopes never happens.
With the team's stifling defense further weakened by the loss of their midfielder, they will need to rely on their superstar duo of Doncic and Irving to win Game 3.
They did.
Doncic and Irving took shot after shot, which got harder and harder to make and eventually went through the net. Doncic won a jump ball against Edwards. Irving salvaged the failed possession with a jump shot from the baseline.
Doncic used Daniel Gafford in place of the benched Lively in the fourth quarter when head coach Jason Kidd tried a small lineup without a center, but even Gafford bounced back.
Lively's long-term health is the biggest concern for all involved in this situation — he'll miss as many games and take as much time as he needs to get ready to return — and it'll be that much easier for his teammates to navigate a 3-0 series lead.
That's because he had the support of his teammates, who have been encouraging him all season. — Tim Cate, Mavericks reporter
Wolves on the brink of elimination
The Timberwolves' No. 1 defense can't stop them, Towns can't make shots, and now Minnesota is in danger of being eliminated from the Western Conference Finals.
The Timberwolves have relied on suffocating defense all season, bolstered by Towns' All-Star season. Both were noticeably absent against Dallas.
Doncic and Irving combined for 66 points in Game 3, and they did everything they always wanted against a defense that was ranked No. 1 all season. Minnesota was so desperate that they benched Rudy Gobert for much of the fourth quarter in an attempt to get their offense to match the Mavs' shooting.
The Timberwolves simply have no answer for two dynamic, tough shot-makers.
But Towns continued his dismal performance in the conference finals by shooting just 27.8 percent from the field and 0-for-8 from 3-point range, including 3-for-22 from 3-point range in the series.
Edwards shot just 11 of 24 from the field but finished with 26 points, including a dunk in the third quarter that helped get the Timberwolves back in the game, but no one else could match Edwards and take some of the pressure off him. The closest he came was Mike Conley, who finished with 16 points on 4 of 7 shooting.
And now Minnesota's bounce-back season is on life support. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win. — John Krawczynski, Timberwolves reporter
Wolves net rating in clutch games
One thing that's been confusing for the Timberwolves this season is that they've had the fourth-worst net rating (point differential per 100 possessions) despite doing well in clutch games (21-15). This is something that can happen, but it doesn't help us know if they can get through a pinch.
Meanwhile, Dallas had the best clutch record in the league (23-9) and boasted the third-best clutch net rating in the NBA.
That was evident for both teams in the Western Conference Finals. Three close games. The Mavericks won all three. Minnesota had a penchant for game-changing moments, and Dallas kept doing just that.
In Game 1, it was Doncic and the defense who were great in the 4th quarter. In Game 2, it was Irving and the defense who were great in the 4th quarter, the key turnovers/stops, and Doncic who hit the deciding shot. However, Naz Reid's missed incredible 3-pointer right before the buzzer is notable as something that changes the way you look at this game.
In Game 3, the Mavericks continued to thrive in key moments and the Timberwolves couldn't consistently fight back. Irving and Doncic outplayed them again, as did defensive collapses that led to big scoring in the paint.
Minnesota has a closer, but he's 22 and still figuring out where his opportunity is. The Mavs have two of the best closers in the world and two of the most skilled offensive players we've ever seen.
Dallas is good at this, so Minnesota has to learn that. Unfortunately, school is about to end for the summer for them. By Zach Harper, NBA staff writer
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(Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
