Decisive triples by Kyrie Irvin and Luka Doncic in the final quarter sentenced this Friday in Minneapolis a tight 108-109 victory for the Dallas Mavericksthe second in the NBA Western Conference final.
Doncic added a triple double of 32 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, including 5 triples, while Irving hit 4 triples in the final quarter that added 20 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Daniel Gafford contributed 16 points, Dereck Lively 14, and PJ Washington 10.
For the Timberwolves, the top scorer was substitute Naz Reid, who made 7 triples out of 9 attempts for a total of 23 points. Anthony Edward added 21, Mike Conley 18, Rudy Gobert’s double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Karl-Anthony Towns 15.
Dallas beat Minnesota 105-108 on Wednesday in the first game of the conference finals. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, disappointed with his players, subjected them to a video session on Thursday in which he presumably reproached each of the mistakes made.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said after the first game of the series that he wanted to improve on three-pointers and Doncic debuted with a long-distance one two minutes into the second game. The even first half of the opening quarter tied at 2, 4, 7, 12, 15 and 17 and Doncic hit his second triple of two attempts and reached his 9th personal goal. The first player to score 10 points was, from a triple, Edwards, who was criticized for having contributed 19 points in the previous game, in addition to 11 rebounds and 8 assists, and the locals finished the quarter 6 up (32-26).
After coming off the bench, Reid nailed his third triple of three attempts to open the scoring of the second quarter, Conley followed with another from long distance and Doncic answered with his third from outside the large area. Conley made it three again, Reid, on a roll, hit his fourth triple out of four attempts and Edwards, with his second from deep, got the biggest lead so far (55-37). The Mavericks reacted and managed to briefly cut the home lead, but with 28.6% shooting on three-pointers compared to the Timberwolves’ 47.1%, they went into halftime with a 12-point injury (60-48).
With both teams gritting their teeth on defense, Dallas tried to get points from Minnesota, but 25 points from Doncic, who also added 7 rebounds and 7 assists, were not enough for the Mavericks to cut back with Irving missing (71-63) . The Slovenian scored his fourth triple and assisted Green, who also shot from distance, assisted by the former Madrid player, managed to reduce the difference to 5 (75-70). The Timberwolves were more unsuccessful in the third segment from all distances and the Mavericks took advantage of it. Jaden Hardy’s second triple put Dallas on the heels of Minnesota (75-73) and, after a frenetic exchange of quick baskets and Reid’s fifth triple of five attempts, the third quarter ended 86-79.
Two triples from Irving, who woke up at the beginning of the final quarter, and a hook from Washington, put the Texans ahead (86-87). Reid made his sixth triple out of seven attempts and Irving answered with his third in just a few minutes. The fans roared at the Target Center in Minneapolis with the rapid exchanges of leadership when Reid hit his seventh three-pointer before reaching the halfway point of the final segment (94-92).
The exciting match tied at 94 and 96, continued with leadership changes and Irving’s fourth triple in the same quarter kept the Mavericks’ hopes with 1.05 left (108-106) and another triple by Doncic gave the visitors the victory 4 seconds left (108-109).
2024-05-25 04:07:20
#Mavericks #attack #Wolves #court #West #final
/image%2F6692182%2F20240617%2Fob_b707ea_img-20240616-wa0060-fileminimizer.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1)
