The Dallas Mavericks have been broken, beaten, and battered in the playoffs this year. The Mavs looked to be on the ropes several times, only to get up and land the final punch. It happened again Saturday night in the American Airlines Center in Dallas, where the Mavericks landed the final blow in the conference semi-finals 4-2.
Dallas and Minnesota are No Strangers as Opponents
It’s now time for the Mavs to face the scorching Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards defeated the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets in convincing fashion in the 7th game of the series Sunday night. The Mavs and the Wolves now await the Western Conference finals.
Denver had the T’Wolves on the ropes early and often. But of course, the Wolves were the 3rd seed in the West for a reason, fully capable of coming back at any moment. That’s just what they did in the second half, enacting a 30-point swing from Denver’s largest first-half lead.
The 4th quarter in Denver was great theater, with Anthony Edwards and the Wolves trading heavy weight punches in what had the feel of a title fight. The result for Denver marks the 5th straight season that the defending NBA Champions failed to reach the conference finals, underscoring growing parity among the NBA’s best teams.
Back in Dallas, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving unsurprisingly led the way to victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the number 1 seed in the West. The Thunder looked hyper-efficient in the first few games of the series, as MVP finalist Shai-Gilgeous Alexander showed why he’s so highly thought of as a budding super star. Combined with the fact that Doncic was slow to get up off the floor, patches of blood showing on his knees, his temper flaring, and it looked like the Mavs had met their match and then some.
But after letting the game and a 3-1 series lead slip through their fingers in game 4, Dallas hit reset. Doncic stated that he had made up his mind to “focus on basketball” and less on whether he was getting the right calls. This focus paid off, as Doncic had 31 points and a triple double in Game 5, and the team overall recovered from incredibly poor free throw shooting in Game 4 to hit over 70% in the next two games to close out the series.
The supporting cast Shai-Gilgeous Alexander had around him was solid all series. The defensive stopper Luguentz Dort, the fierce Jalen Williams, the promising Chet Holmgren, and more. But it wasn’t enough to stop Irving and Doncic combined with their supporting cast.
PJ Washington in particular gave Dallas life support while Doncic struggled from 3-point land, making himself available in the corner for passes from Doncic and Irving to knock down 3’s and break the spirit of the Thunder after containing the Mavs’ two main super stars. Tim Hardaway came back from injury to contribute, and Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively, and David Jones chipped in intensity and electrifying dunks.
The Alexander-Doncic match-up was one between two MVP finalists (alas, Jokic won again), and both represented themselves very well on the court. But the match-up didn’t have the direct quality of a Magic vs. Bird, or an Olajuwon vs. Shaq face off.
Now the superstar storyline will feature Doncic versus the incredible Anthony Edwards, hailed as a Michael Jordan clone in some circles. With the reigning NBA Champions eliminated along with the MVP of the league, Doncic and Edwards vie for Best in the West, one step away from the finals. Edwards had a bad shooting night in the Game 7 win, going 6 for 24 from the field, but still finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, and locked in on defense, helping his team any way he could.
Edwards actually pointed out that he’ll be matched up against a different star in the conference finals, Kyrie Irving. But Irving, famously, already has a ring. Neither Doncic nor Edwards do, yet. Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals begins Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. Central in Minneapolis.
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