Doncic nodded and smiled at the fans and ended the conversation by ending the Minnesota Timberwolves' season.
Doncic's relentless scoring led the Mavericks to a 124-103 win over the Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday and a trip to their first NBA Finals since 2011. The 25-year-old Doncic, who had 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the close win, was unanimously named the series MVP. Dallas will face the Boston Celtics in the Finals, which begins on Thursday.
Michael Jordan once shrugged and smirked when he couldn't afford a mistake. Doncic becomes sadistic when the game is at its peak. On what arguably was the best night of his career, given the stakes, he growled, flexed his muscles, gritted his teeth and skipped down the court in a frenzied trance. After each demoralizing shot during his 20-point streak in the first quarter, Doncic looked in the direction of the onlookers, asking if they wanted another shot. He shot and looked, shot and looked, over and over again, until Target Center quieted down.
“I can not say [what the heckler said]”But that's what drives me, and everybody knows that,” Doncic said.
In the second half, when another Timberwolves fan sitting along the baseline theatrically rubbed his eyes in an imitation of a crying baby, Doncic scored through contact, looked over his shoulder at the man and asked, “Who's crying, you motherfucker?”
At that point, the game was long over. There was no time to waste, no reason to decide this one at the crucial junctures of the other games in the series. Doncic, deeply upset after Tuesday's Game 4 loss and eager to reach the Finals for the first time in his six-year career, scored on Dallas' first two attempts and made his first five shots. The crowd let out a collective gasp.
“He was definitely in 'Luka Magic' mode,” said Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who played point guard on Dallas' 2011 championship team. “He set the tone and made it easier for everybody else to play. He calmed the crowd right from the start of the game and let his teammates know it was time to go the extra mile. As a leader, that's what you need.”
Consecutive 3-pointers by Doncic pushed Dallas' lead to double digits late in the first quarter. A disoriented Timberwolves team couldn't prevent the lead from growing to 20 early in the second quarter. Kyrie Irving's late run gave the Mavericks a 69-40 lead at halftime. Doncic came out of nowhere after the break and built a commanding 36-point lead. By comparison, the first four games of the series were decided by a combined 18 points.
For Minnesota, it was a fitting end to a sad but memorable postseason. The Timberwolves had taken a risky gamble by winning their first three elimination games, rallying from a 3-2 series deficit to dethrone the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the second round and then winning Game 4 in Dallas. In the fourth, they finally got burned.
The Timberwolves have also struggled to live up to expectations at Target Center in recent weeks. After winning two home games against the Phoenix Suns in the first round, Minnesota went 1-5 at home against Denver and Dallas.
Star guard Anthony Edwards couldn't live up to his promise heading into Game 6, finishing with 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists, most of which came after Doncic put the game in motion. Karl-Anthony Towns also added 28 points and 12 rebounds, but the Timberwolves seemed content to avoid the sweep and save face.
The Mavericks improved to 7-2 on the road to the Finals, winning five straight games against Dallas on Thursday, but Doncic's reputation as a road warrior goes back years. In the 2022 playoffs, he helped the Suns win a tense second-round series in Game 7 in Phoenix with 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. He also made game-winning shots in Minnesota's first two games against the Timberwolves.
Doncic's villainy and penchant for breaking hearts will be put to the test in the Finals, where Boston's TD Garden boasts one of the NBA's most respected and passionate crowds and Celtics fans will be excited for the storied franchise's first title since 2008 and a heated showdown with Kyrie Irving, who had the misfortune of donning the green uniform for just two seasons from 2017-2019.
Irving, 32, had a strong performance in the West Finals, recording 36 points, five assists and four rebounds. The eight-time All-Star is returning to the Finals for the first time in seven years and his first championship series without LeBron James as a teammate. Irving left James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017 to try to win his own title with the Celtics. After that failed, he teamed with Kevin Durant for three-plus years with the Brooklyn Nets but never made it past the second round. Brooklyn traded Irving to Dallas in 2023.
“Seven years was a long time, but it felt like the time was right,” Irving said. “I had three losing years in Cleveland. [before James’s 2014 arrival]As everyone reminds me, I couldn't do it without certain members of my team. I like to enjoy those challenges. When you're a young player, [winning] “To some extent I took it for granted. Now I'm in my 30s and I feel more comfortable and more confident standing my ground. … All the stories and tales will be around forever. I'll keep hearing it until I retire.”
The Celtics are considered the favorites to win the Finals and hold nearly all of their traditional advantages. They won a league-high 64 games in the regular season, had the league's best point differential and won the Eastern Conference with a 12-2 record in the postseason. They boast home-court advantage and can enjoy three days of rest after winning the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers on Monday. Their starters — July Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford — have far more playoff experience than the Mavericks.
But Dallas has Doncic, who has had a fantastic postseason run and is a strong challenger to Nuggets center Nikola Jokic for the title of best basketball player in the world, proving himself to be the ultimate equalizer.
In wins over the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Timberwolves, Doncic and the Mavericks slowed down perimeter stars like Paul George, Jalen Williams and Edwards, outplayed MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and overpowered Minnesota's powerful front line of Rudy Gobert, Towns and Naz Reid. Dallas' journey through a tougher Western Conference should be great preparation for a Celtics team that has big wings like the Clippers, a penchant for 3-pointers like the Thunder and good defense like the Timberwolves.
Boston, meanwhile, will have to shift into top gear after beating the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Pacers, who were dealing with injuries to Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell and Tyrese Haliburton, respectively.
After taking photos with teammates and celebrating on the court with his father, Doncic walked arm-in-arm with Mavericks center Derek Lively II into the visitors' locker room. As Doncic clutched his West Finals MVP award, Lively said, “That's a nice trophy.”
The opponent was vanquished, the ridicule vanished, and Doncic was left smiling and generous.
“Here it is,” he said, holding the trophy out in Livly's direction. “You take it.”
The rookie center wisely declined, but Doncic's ambivalence about the golden prize contrasted with his ferocious pursuit of it. No material thing can match the satisfaction of disappearing a handkerchief into a lonely pocket.
