The Dallas Mavericks secured their spot in the North American Basketball League (NBA) Finals for the third time on Thursday by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-103 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
Led by Slovenian first baseman Luka Doncic, the Mavs repeated their 2006 and 2011 performances, losing the first 4–2 and winning the second to capture their only title, also 4–2, both against Miami. Hit.
Fifth-place Jason Kidd’s men, champions as a player in 2011, beat the third-place Wolves 4-1 after already beating the fourth-place Los Angeles Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. (first place) with a score of 4–2. home-versus advantage, as will happen in the Finals against the Boston Celtics.
The Mavericks squandered their first match point in Game 4, losing 105-100 at home, but returned to Minneapolis to deny the Wolves a chance, thanks in large part to Doncic’s inspiration in Game 4. The end of Magic Johnson as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Western Conference Finals.
The Slovenian entered the game brilliantly and by the end of the first period he already had 20 points, more than the entire home team (18), making a decisive contribution to the opening 35-19 score that led the Mavs to an early victory .
Doncic’s performance was followed by Kyrie Irving, who led the Mavs into halftime with the underdogs winning 69-40, a 29-point lead that ballooned in the third half to a high of 36.
Doncic ended up scoring 36 points on 14-of-22 shooting from the field, including six-of-10 on threes, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Irving added the same 36 points, plus five assists and four steals.
Also noteworthy were P.J. Washington’s 12 points, Daniel Gafford’s 11 points and nine rebounds, and Derek Lively II’s nine points and eight rebounds, who didn’t miss a field goal the entire series.
The hosts were led by Anthony Edwards with 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Karl-Anthony Towns with 28 points and 12 rebounds.
The NBA Finals, played like all playoff qualifying games on a best-of-seven basis, kicks off June 6 in Boston, home of the Celtics, owned by Portugal’s Nehemias Queta.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.