Luka Doncic;s Game-Winner Gives Dallas Mavericks 2-0 Series Lead Over Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS — Coming off a Game 1 victory, the Dallas Mavericks achieved another victory at Target Center to begin the Western Conference finals with a 2-0 series lead. It came down to the final possession for the Mavs, with Luka Doncic’s game-winning step-back 3-pointer with Rudy Gobert on an island pushing them to a 109-108 win in Game 2.

Minnesota featured Towns early in the post to attack the smaller matchup in P.J. Washington. While he initially shot 1-5 from the floor, he could draw fouls and had five early points. Minnesota pushed the pace after the Mavericks’ turnovers, but began playing out of side ball screens with Mike Conley attacking Doncic trying to deny use of the screen with ICE coverage by attacking space baseline.

It was a tightly contested game early, with the Timberwolves going up 21-17 midway through the first period after Derrick Jones Jr. was blocked in transition, leading to a catch and finish for Gobert. The early momentum continued to be in Minnesota’s favor, with Dallas to turn positive plays into lengthy runs.

Naz Reid heated up with a made 3-pointer both to end the first quarter and to begin the second. With Towns taking advantage of the mismatch against Washington, he extended Minnesota’s advantage to double figures (11) for the first time in the game. Dallas responded by getting Lively to the free throw line, but Conley fired back with a 3-pointer to extend the Timberwolves’ edge to 12.

Doncic responded by snaking a ball screen to get a step-back 3-pointer. However, Minnesota continued to answer back Dallas, with Towns being featured inside as the offense’s focal point. He scored against Washington in the post, then found Reid in the corner to put the Timberwolves up by a 15-point margin, prompting the Mavericks to call a timeout. The lead grew as large as 17.

Dallas began tightening up defensively but came up empty in opportune situations offensively, including Lively mishandling a catch on an open alley-oop. Minnesota held a 60-48 advantage entering the break, with double figure scoring performances already from Edwards with 13 points while Conley and Reid each had 12 points. Towns and Gobert both added nine points and five rebounds at this point as well.

Doncic recorded 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists playing 21 of 24 first half minutes, but had a difficult time getting to his spots in the first half. He shot 5-14 from the floor and 2-8 from inside the arc. He was the team’s only double figure scorer to this point, with Lively’s eight points being closest. Dallas shot 18-46 (39.1%) overall and 4-14 (28.6%) from deep through two quarters.

Early in the second half, the Mavericks made it a six-point game after Doncic continued to guide the offense with his scoring and playmaking. A turnover prevented them from progressing after reaching that point, but Dallas stuck with it and eventually overtook the lead. Doncic was having an easier time attacking downhill than earlier in the game while hitting a 3-pointer.

Without Doncic on the court, Jaden Hardy made impressive plays to pull the Mavericks within two points multiple times. The first was a 3-pointer followed by a closeout attack that led to a lob pass for Gafford. Irving also made a series of plays attacking downhill, but Minnesota closed the period with an 86-79 lead after Reid hit a quick trigger 3-pointer out of a Horns flare set.

Doncic returned to the court for the fourth quarter with Irving also on the floor. Dallas used an 8-0 run to quckly overtake an 87-86 advantage with Irving scoring or assisting on all of these points. He used a pair of 3-pointers and assisted Washington during this stretch.

With the Mavericks focused on collapsing the paint when Edwards attacked downhill, Minnesota had a five-out offense out to begin the period. This helped create a spray-out pass that led to a 3-pointer for Reid to retake the lead. Irving responded with a deep make from beyond the arc of his own. The game was set up to be tight, with every possession being crucial.

Dallas continued to leave Reid open and were made to pay for doing so. His seventh made 3-pointer put Minnesota ahead 94-92 with 6:36 remaining in regulation. It was a struggle for the Mavericks to find the proper balance with handling double screener actions along with gnerall collapsing the paint while being able to get out on Reid with many of his shots being wide open.

Gafford finished a series of paint touches, including a throw-ahead transition pass where he bodied Conley to secure the catch and threw up the scoop finish on his way to the ground. Reid again responded by attacking off the catch for a dunk to tie it up again. Dallas became more focused on switching these actions down the stretch.

Minnesota made a series of clutch plays in the paint to maintain a three-point lead while Irving split a pair of free throws and turned it over trying to attack Edwards. Irving did manage to recover the ball before lobbing it to Lively for a dunk, but Conley made a floater on the other end. Dallas came within one point numerous times in this stint.

Dallas turned to Stack pick-and-roll for Doncic to find Lively behind Gobert for a catch and finish to pull ahead, but Conley responded with a made floater. Irving had a second-chance 3-point attempt to give the Mavericks momentum but missed after Jones’ initial offline attempt. Edwards attacked the rack to get to the line and made both free throws, putting Minnesota up by three with under two minutes remaining the game clock.

Irving used a double drag action to get deep on a drive before using contact to draw a foul, but he missed both free throw attempts. Dallas then fouled Edwards while in the bonus as he was trying to pass, resultign in falling down by five after he made both. Irving hit a corner 3-pointer late in the shot clock to make it 108-106 with about a minute left.

Edwards drew two on a ball screen and passed it to McDaniels on the baseline, who immediately was trapped and ended up turning it over after a successful challenge by the Mavericks. Dallas gained possession with 47.3 seconds to play while facing a two-point deficit. Doncic orchestrated a possession out of Horns that got Gobert switched onto him but he missed a step-back in short-range. Edwards then turned it over after getting stuck near the nail making a series of pivots.

The Mavericks once again had possession with a chance to tie or take the lead. This time, 12.8 seconds were remaining in the fourth quarter. Doncic seized the moment by getting Gobert switched onto him again and breaking him down off the dribble to create what proved to be the game-winning shot since Reid went on to miss at the buzzer.

Looking ahead, the series will continue on Sunday when Game 3 is played at American Airlines Center for the first of two games.

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