Luka Doncic's game-winning 3 puts the Mavericks up 2-0 on the Wolves
The Dallas Mavericks needed a big shot as they trailed in the final seconds on Friday night. Luka Doncic was on the floor. As a result, nobody on the Mavericks was concerned about who would have the opportunity to shoot or find an open man.
"The play was to get Luka the ball, and let Luka do what Luka does in those moments," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. "He has trust with his teammates. If they were to come and hit him, he knew who he was going to find to knock down a shot."
"We talked about taking a two -- we were only down two -- but when he got to dancing with (Rudy) Gobert, you could see that the step-back was coming. And the rest was history."
Doncic hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds left as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-108 in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals in Minneapolis.
Doncic had a triple-double, scoring 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists. Kyrie Irving finished with 20 points, while Daniel Gafford had 16 on 8-of-10 shooting.
The Mavericks have taken a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series as they travel to Dallas for the next two games. Game 3 of the series is set for Sunday.
Naz Reid led the Timberwolves with 23 points from the bench. He went 8-for-13 from the field and 7-for-9 from beyond the arc to give Minnesota a chance to win, but he missed his final 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
Anthony Edwards had 21 points, five rebounds, and seven assists for Minnesota. Mike Conley tallied 18 points.
The Timberwolves led 108-103 with 1:29 remaining before Dallas made its final run.
Irving hit a three-pointer at the 1:05 mark. Prior to Doncic's winning shot, Minnesota's next two possessions included turnovers by Jaden McDaniels and Edwards.
Edwards blamed himself after shooting 5 of 17 from the pitch.
"They're just showing me crowds, man, sitting in the gaps," Edwards said of the Dallas defense. "But I'm turning down a lot of shots, like my mid-rangers and stuff, I'm turning a lot of those down. But we're getting open looks, so I'm not tripping."
Edwards scored 10 points in the first quarter, helping the Timberwolves to a 32-26 lead. He made a two-point basket, a three-pointer, and five of six free throws.
Minnesota maintained the pressure in the second quarter. Conley put the Timberwolves up 14 points with a floating jump shot with 1:32 left in the half, but Josh Green answered with a basket with 1:10 remaining.
Minnesota led 60-48 at halftime.
The Timberwolves led 68-52 after Conley made two free throws with 9:07 left in the third quarter.
Dallas responded with a 13-3 run that cut the deficit to 71-65 with 5:40 left in the third. Doncic finished the run with a floating 10-foot jump shot.
The Mavericks trailed 86-79 heading into the fourth quarter.
Gafford gave the Mavericks energy throughout the game. In one sequence, he blocked a 3-pointer and ran the length of the court to finish with a layup, giving the Mavericks a 96-94 lead with 5:55 remaining.
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