Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Thursday May 23, 2024 at 8:22 a.m.
Dallas won 105-108 at Minnesota in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, and is already taking home advantage in this series.
During the first two rounds of the play-offs, Dallas won Games 2 and 5 on the floor of the Clippers then Oklahoma City and won the series 4-2. In the Conference final, the Texans didn’t wait for Game 2 to win in Minneapolis. They did it from the start, winning 105-108 this Wednesday to “air condition” the Target Center and its 19,433 fans. Led for a large part of the match (but never by more than nine points), Dallas finished very strong and therefore already regained home advantage. The Timberwolves, playing in their first Conference final in twenty years, won the first quarter 33-27 then led 62-59 at halftime. The Mavericks then took the lead in the third quarter three times, but for only one point (66-67, 68-69, 79-80).
Irving dominates the start of the match, Doncic the end
It was therefore in the last quarter that everything was decided. Minnesota was five points ahead (89-84), then Dallas signed a 13-0, with nine points from Luka Doncic, which allowed it to lead 89-97. But the Wolves responded with a 10-0, with five points from Karl-Anthony Towns, and they regained momentum a little (102-98). There were then 3’37 left to play. It was at this moment that Luka Doncic and PJ Washington scored three points (102-104), then the Slovenian added a two-point shot (102-106). Kyrie Irving then made his two free throws to respond to Naz Reid’s lay-up and Dallas won 105-108. Luka Doncic finished with 33 points, including 15 in the last quarter, while Kyrie Irving scored 24 in the first half, out of 30 in total. The two Dallas stars were there, which was less the case for Wolves. If Anthony Edwards finished with 19 points (but none in the third quarter), 11 rebounds and 8 assists, Karl-Anthony Towns had to be content with 6 out of 20 on shots (16pts, 7rbds). Rudy Gobert finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds. The Wolves, who were dominated on the rebound (40-48), narrowly lost in Match 1. But it didn’t come down to much, and the rest of the series promises to be thrilling as both teams seem close. Match 2 will take place on Friday, still in Minneapolis.
NBA / PLAY-OFFS
Conference Finals
Boston (1) – Indiana (6) : 1-0
Minnesota (3) –Dallas (5): 0-1
Conference Semi-Finals
Eastern Conference
Boston (1) – Cleveland (4) : 4-1
New York (2) – Indiana (6) : 4-3
Western Conference
Oklahoma City (1) – Dallas (5) : 2-4
Denver (2) – Minnesota (3) : 3-4
Premier tour
Eastern Conference
Boston (1) – Miami (8) : 4-1
Cleveland (4)- Orlando (5) : 3-3
New York (2) – Philadelphia (7): 4-2
Milwaukee (3) – Indiana (6) : 2-4
Western Conference
Oklahoma City (1) – New Orleans (8) : 4-0
LA Clippers (4) – Dallas (5) : 2-4
Denver (2) – LA Lakers (7) : 4-1
Minnesota (3) – Phoenix (6) : 4-0
2024-05-23 06:26:58
#Dallas #home #advantage
