In another tight Game 1 in the conference finals, the Dallas Mavericks made more plays late than the Minnesota Timberwolves to escape with a three-point road win. Here are three stars from Wednesday’s NBA playoffs.
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving | 30 points, four assists
After his free throws iced the Mavericks’ 108-105 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1, Irving admitted that Anthony Edwards’ bravado about guarding him provided inspiration.
Irving came out firing on Wednesday, scoring 24 points in the first half, attacking the paint against the Timberwolves’ vaunted defense.
Irving finished with 30 points without the benefit of a single made three-pointer. His first half might single-handedly force that Timberwolves to abandon their drop coverage in the paint, because even Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert can’t deal with Irving when he has a full head of steam.
Not only was Irving effective on offense scoring and passing the ball – he found P.J. Washington for his go-ahead three – but he served as a steadying veteran presence for the Mavericks, who went into a hostile road environment and calmly stole Game 1.
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic | 33 points, eight assists
There have been three knocks on Doncic throughout his career. His defense, his conditioning and his constant complaining to referees. But in Game 1 of his second conference finals series in three years, Doncic kept his cool about whistles, he made huge defensive plays in the fourth quarter and it was 22-year-old Anthony Edwards who looked exhausted late while Doncic sunk shots and broke up lobs during his 41st minute on the court.
Doncic took control of the game in the fourth quarter, going on a personal 7-0 run, assisting on one Mavs basket and even sending a missed shot that looked like an assist off the backboard to Dereck Lively II.
Putting up 33 points and eight assists is nothing new for the Mavericks’ star, who was named to his fifth-straight All-NBA first team on Wednesday. But adding three steals and a blocked shot is quite novel and it might be enough to take the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals in 13 years.
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels | 24 points, 6 3PM
McDaniels scored more than 20 points for the third straight playoff game. Most of his team-high 24 points came from three-point range, where McDaniels shot 6-for-9 and made his first four shots from deep. Dallas clearly planned to give McDaniels space on offense, and when Doncic sagged off him, Minnesota’s All-Defensive forward made him pay.
McDaniels outscored Doncic in the first half, 19-14. Through three quarters, Doncic was only shooting 7-for-18 and 1-for-7 from deep, with McDaniels acting as his primary defender. The fourth quarter was a different story, but McDaniels gave his team a great chance to win on both sides of the ball in Game 1. Maybe he should have gotten more than six shots in the second half.