Luka Dončić scored 33 points, Kyrie Irving scored 30 points and the Dallas Mavericks have a 1-0 lead after a Game 1 thriller.
The Mavericks stole home-field advantage with a 108-105 victory Wednesday to open the Western Conference finals, riding their usual offensive engines in a game that saw 14 lead changes in front of a raucous Target Center crowd. .
The second game is scheduled for Friday at 8:30 pm ET.
Dončić was 12 of 25 from the field with eight assists, six rebounds and three steals, while Irving was 12 of 23 with four assists. In fact, it had been a slow game for Dončić until the fourth quarter, where he scored 15 points.
The effort took advantage of a relatively bad day for Anthony Edwards, who grimaced and had 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting, although he also provided 11 rebounds and eight assists. The biggest problem was that Karl-Anthony Towns was 6 of 20 for 16 points, and few Timberwolves stood out besides Jaden McDaniels (24 points).
Mavericks survived eventful fourth quarter
The game skewed Minnesota for most of the first three quarters, but Dallas rallied in the fourth with a 13-0 run to take an eight-point lead. That soon evaporated through a 12-1 Timberwolves run, punctuated by Towns’ 3-pointer from deep.
One of the biggest decisions came after the Mavericks regained the lead. Towns advanced with a missed 3-pointer and threw down what appeared to be a game-tying dunk. However, the referees rejected the basket and penalized the offensive goal. The decision was reviewed and quickly confirmed, but the The replay left some fans skeptical..
With the Mavericks still leading 104-102 and a minute left, Dončić scored another basket to take a two-possession lead. Minnesota did not get the ball with a chance to tie for the rest of the game.
