Luka Doncic had a field day with the Minnesota Timberwolves defense, dropping some wild taunts and 36 points while leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals after just five games in the conference finals.
Dallas built an insurmountable 69-40 halftime lead that no one in Minnesota had any hope of recovering from as the Mavericks reach the Finals for the first time since 2011 and only the third time in team history. They will play against the Boston Celtics.
Doncic was dominant throughout the night and let the crowd, which included rap star Snoop Dogg, know it, and cameras caught him yelling “Yeah, who’s crying motherfucker?” to someone in the audience.
Kyrie Irving also scored 36 points for the Mavericks, who built a 29-point halftime lead on 61% shooting to deflate the once-energetic crowd before most fans rose to their feet to have your first snack.
The Mavs went up by as many as 36 points in the third quarter, while keeping the Timberwolves offense out of control.
Luka Doncic took home Western Conference Finals MVP award after Dallas advanced
Thanks to Doncic’s dominance, Dallas heads to the NBA Finals to face the Boston Celtics
WARNING: CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
The Mavs, who had the fifth seed in the West, have a full week to rest before the NBA Finals begin in Boston on June 6, the franchise’s first appearance since winning the championship in 2011.
The Celtics will have had 10 days between games after sweeping Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals.
Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the third-seeded Wolves, who faced the devastating duo of Doncic and Irving after stifling Phoenix in a first-round sweep and then dethroning the defending. champion Denver in a seven-game series.
Irving improved to 15-1 in his career in closing playoff games.
Doncic set a defiant tone by going 4-for-4, hitting rainbows from 28 and 31 feet while turning to trash-talk the fans on the court with every shot, often with a wicked grin.
He hit a 32-footer later in the first quarter as the Mavs snapped a 17-1 run, a run they took to 28-5 in a nine-minute span.
It was Doncic’s second 20-point quarter of his postseason career, following a 21-point fourth quarter in the Western Conference finals loss to Golden State in 2022.
Doncic, who made 14 of 22 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds, and his smart teammate Irving, who has a 2016 championship ring with Cleveland, were the top stars in this series, as this Wolves team found its first test of a sustained postseason run. a bitter one, but perhaps ultimately beneficial.
Dallas guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrates his score as Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, left, looks on during the first half of Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
Dallas Mavericks players celebrate in the locker room after reaching the NBA Finals
Although he familiarly and persistently waved his arms at the referees almost every time a whistle went wrong, Doncic, 25, played with unwavering confidence and unflappable joy from start to finish.
As fans taunted him with a “Flopper!” He sang when he shot free throws in the third quarter, Doncic smiled and mockingly said the words along with them.
Edwards, although he reached the 25-point mark for the 15th time in 27 career playoff games, struggled to find his rhythm amid all the double teams.
The Wolves, for all their progress this season, were reminded that they still don’t have a championship offense despite their dynamic skills and decisive mentality.
They had several cringe-inducing possessions in the decisive first half, and the coaches struggled to find a group that could play in sync.
As the final seconds of the second quarter ticked down, Edwards drove to the line and kicked the ball toward the corner to Kyle Anderson, who returned it to Towns on the wing and couldn’t find a look he liked.
Luka Doncic watches Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals in Minnesota at the end
He returned the pass to Anderson, who tried to approach and the shot clock ran out.
PJ Washington, who scored 12 points, flexed his arms to celebrate another suffocating defensive sequence by the Mavs.
the mavs brought back 7-foot-1 rookie Dereck Lively II from the sprained neck that kept him out of the previous game, restoring the full rim protection duo with Daniel Gafford that helped them disrupt Rudy Gobert in the post and nearly everyone else who tried to attack the basket.
Gafford had 11 points and nine rebounds, and Lively added nine points and eight rebounds.