Minnesota had the number one defense in the NBA this season and reached the Western Conference Finals because of it.
Luka Doncic burned that defense in the first quarter Thursday night, ripping out the hearts of the Timberwolves and their fans.
Kyrie Irving came to life as the night went on and stomped on that heart, finishing with 36 points (the same number as Doncic).
After taking a step forward in Game 4, Minnesota took a step back Thursday night and looked offside throughout the game.
“The game got away from us a little bit in the first quarter when we lost a lot of easy things, we went one-on-one too early, they just took us out of any kind of offensive structure,” Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said. “Then we couldn’t make any stops and that was the game.”
The result was a 124-103 rout that the Mavericks gave the Timberwolves to take the series 4-1, with Dallas winning all three games played in Minnesota.
The Mavericks advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in the Doncic era and will face the Celtics starting June 6 in Boston.
This victory and the late start date of the Finals mean that Doncic will have a week off to rest his ailing knee and ankle. He can do it while he holds the Western Conference Finals MVP trophy, which he won.
Thursday night’s Game 5 followed a pattern: The Timberwolves brought the ball up the court, were late to their sets and had to take multiple actions to make a hotly contested shot with three seconds left on the shot clock. The Mavericks then grabbed the rebound, pushed to the other end and got a good look in the first 12 seconds.
“Luka came out and set the tone offensively and defensively,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “I thought he let everyone know that he was ready to play. I thought we had followed his example.”
It was a difficult night for the home fans almost from the beginning because of Doncic.
After one quarter, the score was Luka Doncic 20, Minnesota 19. Doncic scored 20 of the Mavericks’ first 30 points (on 8-of-10 shooting), and led the 17-1 run to end the first quarter and put Dallas up. 35-19.
The only thing that changed in the second quarter was Irving got into the mix, and at halftime it was Irving/Doncic 44, Minnesota 40. However, once the rest of the Mavericks were added, it was Dallas 69-40 and a rout. . The rest of the game felt like garbage.
Dereck Lively returned from missing a game with a sprained neck and provided a spark of energy, and a terrifying moment when Naz Reid punched him in the back of the head, the same spot where KAT had kneed him in the Game 3. Reid got a Flagrant 1. and Lively stayed in the game, finishing with nine points and 8 rebounds.
PJ Washington scored a dozen for Dallas, while Daniel Gafford had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Minnesota got 28 points each from Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, but no other players scored in double figures for the Timberwolves.
