DALLAS– Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving each scored 33 points and the Dallas Mavericks made all the big plays late again, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-107 on Sunday night for a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
The Mavericks closed out on a 14-3 run, winning their fifth consecutive playoff game after Dereck Lively II left with a sprained neck when the rookie center was accidentally shot in the back of the head with Karl-Anthony Towns’ knee.
No team in NBA playoff history has recovered from a 3-0 deficit. Game 4 is Tuesday night in Dallas.
“Just say one more, we need one more,” Doncic said. “Nothing done. They have an amazing team, so nothing has been done yet. We need one more, and if we get more, we’ll need the rest.”
PJ Washington started the decisive sequence with a corner 3-pointer after Doncic passed to Irving, who sent the ball to Washington.
The co-stars took over from there.
Doncic hit a shot in the lane for a four-point lead, Irving sent the crowd into a frenzy with a falling jumper and Doncic found Daniel Gafford for an alley-oop dunk and a 113-105 lead with 34 seconds left. Gafford blocked Mike Conley’s layup attempt at the other end.
“They’ve been trying to double me the whole game, trying to double Ky, so that just makes us better,” Doncic said. “Everyone touches the ball, everyone plays. It’s an incredible victory. You know, we pushed ourselves to the limit and executed.
Anthony Edwards had 26 points for the Wolves, but only four after scoring eight straight points for Minnesota to pull the Wolves even in the third quarter.
Towns scored 14 points but missed all eight 3s, including one when the deficit was four with 1:25 remaining.
After taking a 104-102 lead on Kyle Anderson’s floater with five minutes left, Minnesota missed seven straight shots.
“You have to try and score alongside them,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “Throughout the series, we struggled to close out games. These three-minute games we’re playing, we’re losing.”
Doncic, whose game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds of Game 2 at Minnesota put Dallas firmly in control of the series, shot 10 of 20 and 5 of 11 from deep.
Irving shot 12 of 20 and 3 of 6 from long range to lead the Mavs to victory in their first trip to the NBA Finals since 2011, when they won the franchise’s only championship.
In the second quarter, Lively absorbed the kind of contact typically found on football fields not far from Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, the quarterback-tight duo sitting courtside.
The Duke freshman remained on the court holding his head after it moved forward on accidental contact. Lively lay down for several minutes before appearing dazed as he was helped off the court and taken to the locker room.
Lively fell as Mike Conley attempted a missed shot, and Towns was looking for an offensive rebound when his knee struck Lively’s head in the second quarter.
Lively and 20-year-old center Daniel Gafford played a big role in helping Dallas win 2-0. Lively is 12-of-12 shooting from the field in the series, including three makes in Game 3.
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This story has been updated to correct the Mavericks’ final run to 14-3 instead of 12-3.
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