Everyone expected the Western Conference Finals to be a close game, and that's exactly what happened: an intense, physical, back-and-forth battle between two great teams.
until the final minutes of the match.
That's when Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving took over. Dallas has the better closer.
Game 3 followed the same basic pattern as the first two. The score was tied with four minutes left, but from that point on, Dallas dominated. First, P.J. Washington took advantage of Anthony Edwards' defensive catch to sink a wide-open corner 3-pointer. Then Doncic and Irving made some difficult 2-pointers. Then Doncic got inside the defense and threw an alley-oop to Daniel Gafford for an and-1.
The Mavericks finished Game 3 on a 13-3 run to win, 116-107.
Dallas currently holds a commanding 3-0 lead in the series and has a chance to close out the Western Conference finals at home on Tuesday night.
This series is close. Dallas is just +13 after three games and all three games were close late, but Doncic and Irving were the difference makers. They combined for 66 points, with 21 of them coming in the fourth quarter of Game 3.
“Right now, they're beating us one-on-one,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “We put a bunch of guys in the first half and we lost points at the 3-point line. Again, I think our offense just fell apart more than anything. We've got to line up with them and score.”
Minnesota hasn't matched up with them in scoring. Through three games, Doncic and Irving have scored 70 more points than Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns (57 more points than the other Timberwolves). The Mavericks duo are shooting 41.6% from 3-point range, while the Timberwolves duo are shooting 23.3%.
The playmaking from Doncic and Irving inspired the rest of the team, including P.J. Washington, who scored another 16 points and hit another big three in key moments.
Anthony Edwards was true to his word and was more aggressive from the opening period, but the shots still fell short, going just 4 of 11 from the field in the first half.
That changed, and this is Minnesota.
A night when Edwards changed the course of the game with one of the greatest dunks of the playoffs so far.
Dallas led by 10 midway through the second quarter, but an 8-0 individual run by Edwards brought the game back into the swing of things, and the score was tied at the end of the third quarter with four minutes left.
Dallas survives the final minutes and takes the series.
One of the things to watch from the game was the status of Derek Lively II, who was officially diagnosed with a neck sprain after being hit in the head by Karl-Anthony Towns. Lively had to leave the game.
Lively has cleared concussion protocol but could be sidelined beyond Game 4 due to a neck sprain.
Lively was a vital part of the Mavericks' rim protection and on offense he was good with his playmaking when Doncic was blitzed and slinging the ball on a nail. The rookie has been outstanding this series.
But Doncic and Irving were too strong and Gafford stepped up and made plays despite his absence at the end of Game 3. If Dallas can do it again, they'll be in the NBA Finals.
