Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving Guide Dallas Mavericks to Commanding 3-0 Series Lead Over Timberwolves

The Dallas Mavericks pulled out a victory in Game 3 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals, with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving proving instrumental as leaders.

May 26, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball against Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) in the second quarter during game three of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS — After leaving Minneapolis with two victories to begin the Western Conference finals, the Dallas Mavericks overcame Dereck Lively II's injury to take a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves using a 116-107 victory in Game 3.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving set the tone throughout the night and down the stretch. Doncic totaled 33 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Irving added 33 points and four assists. They are now one win away from reaching the NBA Finals. They became the first duo in the NBA to have multiple games where each player scored at least 30 points this postseason. It was a continued display of what Dallas envisioned when formulating this superstar tandem.

May 26, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) and Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) hug during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves during game three of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Doncic isn't ready to celebrate. When asked about the history of being up 3-0 in a series, he replied: “Don’t even say it." He added: “But it feels great. But we’ve got to think about next game. Gotta play with the same mentality. They’re not going to go away. No way.”

Irving echoed Doncic's sentiment, expressing the need to be ready to close out the series with a strong performance: “It means absolutely nothing right now. Going into Game 4, it’s still 0-0. And that’s the type of mentality we have in that locker room.”

Early on, the Timberwolves frequently blitzed Doncic to get the ball out of his hands, and the rest of the Mavericks' offense made them pay. Derrick Jones Jr. and P.J. Washington made a 3-pointer to begin the game. Later, Lively became a frequent beneficiary of this in the paint, finishing a stretch that involved three consecutive dunks. Doncic hit tough shots early when he had the space to do so. He made multiple step-back 3-pointers and a short-range turnaround jumper. The Mavericks led by as many as eight points in the opening period but closed it up 33-28.

With Irving as the only superstar on the floor, the Timberwolves began blitzing him. While a flurry of whistles going against Dallas stifled momentum, Irving used a double team to get the ball to Jones in the weak-side corner for a 3-pointer. e then attacked Conley to get a floater off against Towns' contest to give Dallas a double figure lead for the first time on the night.

A scary sequence unfolded when Lively fell to the floor and was kneed in the back of the head by Towns. He laid on the floor for a while before needing to be assisted to the locker room. With Maxi Kleber already sidelined due to a shoulder separation, Dallas was left with Gafford and Dwight Powell as the only traditional centers available with 8:35 left before halftime.

“We tell each other all the time — especially when we’re subbing in for each other — I tell him to go be a monster, and he tells me to go do the same thing,” Gafford said of Lively. “Before he walked off the court he said exactly that. I do what the big fella say just like he does the same for me.”

The Timberwolves went on a 5-0 run to narrow Dallas' lead to five points, but the Mavericks fired back with a 7-0 stretch, highlighted by Doncic drawing a shooting foul and making both free throws. After Dallas gained its largest lead of the half, both teams traded baskets, with the Mavericks often holding a double-figure advantage with timely shots from Irving, including a floater and a shot from beyond the arc along the way. Doncic scored five consecutive points to get the home crowd to erupt, beginning with a short-range jumper and then a catch-and-shoot make from the perimeter.

Gafford picked up a third personal foul with 0.3 seconds left before halftime. Given Lively's injury, having Gafford in foul trouble was a potentially problematic scenario. The team provided an update about Lively's injury before play resumed, including an injury diagnosis of a neck strain, making him questionable to return. He was later ruled out for the rest of the game.

It was another rough offensive display for Edwards and Towns at halftime, with a combined 19 points while shooting 6-21 overall and 1-8 from deep. Minnesota's perimeter shooting regressed from the levels it was at to begin the series, shooting 4-16 through two quarters.

Minnesota made progress in reducing Dallas' lead, and came as close as being down by five points after Gobert finished in the paint. The Mavericks frequently had a timely response to the Timberwolves' made shots. Doncic hit his second catch-and-shoot 3-pointer of the night, later followed by Irving playing off two for an and-one floater.

After a foul at the 8:17 mark of the third quarter, the Mavericks already reached the bonus, with Minnesota recording a fifth foul. With Powell making a pair of free throws, Dallas maintained a double-figure edge. However, the floor opened up for Edwards to attack the paint, with the Timberwolves deploying Naz Reid in place of Gobert next to Towns. After one of his finishes, Minnesota made it a five-point game midway through the period.

Edwards threw down an emphatic poster dunk over Gafford before hitting a series of tough step-back jumpers from mid-range, tying it up at 77-77. Reid attacked the rim for a go-ahead layup against Powell in the paint—showing a clear decline in paint presence with Lively sidelined. Irving did fire back with a short-range jumper to tie it back up.

After a steal, Doncic attacked Edwards in transition and played off two to draw a foul before making both shots. Hardy drew Gobert on a switch and used a shot fake to draw a foul call, causing Gobert to pick up his fourth of the game to put him in foul trouble. Hardy split the free throws. McDaniels was called for a foul tryign to guard Doncic in space, sending the Slovenian superstar to the line before he made one of two shots. At this point, McDaniels was in foul trouble, too, after picking up his fourth.

Towns completed an and-one finish to bring Minnesota withiin one point, but after Edwards missed a short-range jumper, Doncic made one of his own. However, an issue that plagued Dallas in Game 2 returned as Reid tied it up with a trailer 3-pointer before Towns made a go-ahead floater. Hardy tied it up with an acrobatic finish off the glass, making it 87-87 entering the fourth quarter.

What unfolded the rest of the way was a prime display of what makes the Mavericks a special team. Minnesota was held to 20 points, with Dallas overcoming not having Lively to anchor the paint. Irving and Doncic combined for 21 of their team's 29 points, personally outscoring Minnesota.

“[In] the fourth quarter, you get to see your competitor’s emotions. You get to see what they’re made of. You get to see the plays that they run in the clutch. It’s just a chess match," Irving said. "I think that’s the approach I take throughout most of the game but especially in the fourth quarter when the game is in the balance. They’re taking a lead, we’re taking a lead, there’s a few fouls that slow the game down.

"You just have to pay attention to all the little things," Irving explained. "Also, when we come into our huddles, whether we’re on the floor or whether in timeouts, we are constantly communicating and we’re constantly giving each other that reassurance and confidence that we’re a good team too and we gotta finish the job.”

Irving set the tone to begin the fourth quarter with a finish through contact while Doncic was observing from the bench. Conley was left wide open, giving up a 3-pointer that put Minnesota in the lead. Towns got a stop on Gafford, followed by Kyle Anderson making a floater. Irving stepped up again with a transition pull-up 3-pointer before Doncic approached the scorer's table to check back into the game. Anderson responded with another floater. Irving fired right back using a behind-the-back dribble to drop a defender before hitting a jumper.

“Unbelievable,” Doncic said of Irving. “That’s why they call him, some people, Mr. Fourth Quarter, right? He scored 33. How many did he score in the fourth? It felt like 20. It’s amazing. He’s born for the clutch situations. So we just give the ball to him. It’s just a blessing to have him on our team.”

Irving appreciated Doncic's perspective: “Luka’s funny, man,” he said. “I feel like we’re both born for this. I felt like in that fourth quarter, we had a good run going. We got stops in the fourth quarter and we decided to push and get some easy ones. And down the stretch, that’s where we make our money, man.

“Since All-Star break, we’ve been up there with some of the top teams in the league finishing clutch games. We have a great clutch record. I think we have that poise now and teams have to guard the depth we have.”

Doncic returned to game action with the Mavericks being tied and roughly nine minutes remaining in regulation. He broke the tie with a step-back 3-pointer in the corner after having Towns in isolation, but Dallas failed to get a stop, with Conley getting a floater on the other end. Reid threw down an emphatic one-hand slam after coming off a pindown, then Irving drew McDaniels fifth foul on a drive but came away with only one point after splitting the free throws. After failing to contain Anderson again on a drive, Dallas trailed before Washington completed a putback to tie it up again.

After successfully pulling the chair on Gobert earlier in the game for a steal, Doncic nearly did it again against Reid but was called for a foul. Both teams had empty possessions until Doncic converted a one-legged turnaround against Reid in the paint before Edwards quickly answered with a finish to tie it back up at 102-102.

With the shot clock almost entirely run out, Edwards threw a desperate reversal to Anderson, who threw up a shot to pull Minnesota ahead. Irving took Edwards off the dribble for a scoop finish to make it 104-104, entering a timeout called by the Timberwolves with 4:34 left in regulation. Coming out of the stoppage, Washington hit a corner 3-pointer to put Dallas ahead by three.

“The trust we have with our quarterbacks, Luka and Kai, being able to make the right decisions,” Kidd said. “Those guys did a great job. And we talked (in the huddle) about winning the fourth. The game was tied. Everybody stayed together. We got some great stops. We got some turnovers there in the fourth, but nobody went sideways. Everybody just stayed positive.”

Minnesota had Anderson and Gobert on the floor in clutch time instead of McDaniels and Gobert until the 3:21 mark when the four-time Defensive Player of the Year checked back into the game.

Doncic appeared to complete an impressive drop-off pass to Gafford for a finish to put Dallas up by four points, but he was called for a traveling violation—wiping away the two points. After a strong defensive possession, Doncic used a one-legged turnaround against contact and hit the shot despite falling to the ground. Dallas nearly corraled another defensive stop but had to tie up a jump ball involving Doncic and Edwards.

“They’re trying to double me the whole game, trying to double Kai, so that just makes us better,” Doncic said. “Everybody touches the ball, everybody plays. We come down to the stretch, and we execute.”

Doncic turned it over on a drive with the Mavericks up by four points, but Towns missed an open 3-pointer. Dallas was led by Irving using a snatchback move along the baseline for a jumper to extend their advantage to six points. Gafford swatted Conley at the rim, setting up a play for Doncic to find Gafford for an and-one alley-oop that proved to clinch the victory.

Looking ahead, the series will resume on Tuesday when Game 4 takes places at American Airlines Center.

Stick with MavericksGameday for more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA Playoffs.

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