3 thoughts after Dallas defeats Minnesota in Game 3, 116-107

The Dallas Mavericks have proven to be unshakeable after they gutted out a 116-107 Game 3 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. True to this series, the game came down to the wire, but after losing a double-digit first-half lead, the Mavericks went to work late in the fourth and leaned on a fantastic defensive effort and some big shot-making from Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic to put a bow on this fifth straight playoff victory.

Dallas kicked things off strong. Shots were falling early, especially for Derrick Jones Jr who went a perfect 3-of-3 from deep in the first half. Dallas as a team put up a 48/54/89 shooting line in the first half, powering a 60-52 lead at half. It was the first lead the Mavericks have had in this series. While it’s been impressive to watch Dallas come back to win the first two games, it was nice to see the team get out and play with a lead.

Things were going about as well as could be hoped until Karl-Anthony Towns inadvertently kneed Dereck Lively II in the back of the head as Lively was falling after going for a rebound. He was eventually helped off the court but didn’t look steady on his feet. He did not return to the game.

With Dallas adjusting to the loss of Lively, things slumped a bit in the third. An enormous Anthony Edwards dunk triggered a solo 8-0 run from Edwards that tied the game up at 77 all. Dallas stabilized there and, after trading the lead a handful of time the rest of the way, the third quarter ended tied at 87.

No team managed to grab much of an advantage throughout the fourth. With Just over three and a half minutes to go and the game at a 104 stalemate, it was PJ Washington with a big corner three that jolted Dallas’ offense to a crucial cushion upon which they built a 13-to-3 run to end the game.

A Luka lob to Daniel Gafford and-1 dunk was the dagger that put Dallas up nine with under 353 seconds to go.

Beat switch

Without their uber-rookie Lively, the big paint advantage Dallas has enjoyed this series evaporated. The rebounding battle and the points in the paint swung in favor of Minnesota. The Wolves lead the Mavericks 50-to-40 in paint scoring – shooting 77% in the restricted zone, much higher than they have all series – and won the board battle, out-rebounding Dallas 44-to-38.

After proving they could win without the three-pointer in game 1, tonight the Mavs showed that just because they can’t dominate inside doesn’t mean they forgot how to shoot. The team shot 50% on 28 threes in the game. In addition to that, Coach Kidd’s huddle break after game two (1-2-3 free throws, ribbing Kyrie for his missed freebies late in the game), proved to be prophetic. Dallas earned 31 trips to the line — a series high for them — and shot over 82%.

This team loves having a dynamic big-man duo, but they can still win in different ways.

Huddle up

It’s not worth complaining about how a game is reffed. With Tony Brothers on the crew, it was clear what kind of whistle this game was going to have. And, sure enough, with both coaches using their challenges early on close calls, most of the game was being played with no recourse for the players.

There were several occasions, after calls or when Minnesota was putting a run together when frustration could’ve overtaken the squad and taken their head out of the game. It was comforting to see players, rather than make their case to a ref, all huddle up together on the court to reset their mental focus and stay in the game. It was shaping up to be a close game down the stretch, and the Mavericks made sure they were going to give themselves the best chance they could by sticking together. The one tech that was called in this one went not against Luka, not even against a Maverick, but Kyle Anderson.

With foul trouble hurting the Wolves (Gobert, Conley, and Jaden McDaniels all found themselves having to sub out of the game with foul trouble), sticking together and playing smart made a big difference for a squad already without an important rotation piece.

True grit

After the Timberwolves tied it up at 77 midway through the third, it looked like neither team was going to be able to find any breathing room. Down 102-104 with under five to go, Dallas leaned ALL THE WAY in. Irving tied it with a layup, Washington hit a big three for the lead, and then Dallas held Minnesota without a basket for essentially the remainder of the game. Edwards hit a garbage time layup when the outcome was no longer in doubt.

There will rightfully by a ton of chatter about Luka and Kyrie’s elite execution in clutch time, but that defensive stand was something to behold. The Dallas defense looked a little off-kilter without Lively, but they steadied themselves and made sure this game went into the win column.

You don’t have to look much past the box score to see how great a game Doncic had, but he had a sequence during this stretch that goes beyond the stats. After hitting a tough turnaround fadeaway to give Dallas a two-possession lead, he went down on the other end and tied up Anthony Edwards. The resulting jump ball went Dallas’ way and kept the Wolves off the scoreboard.