Luka Dončić had 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Dallas Mavericks to a 108-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday night.
Kyrie Irving scored 24 of his 30 in the first half for the Mavericks, who trailed 102-98 on an Anthony Edwards three-pointer with 3:37 left before an 8-0 run didn’t stop the Wolves until a tip-in with 10.5 seconds to go.
Jaden McDaniels had his third straight 20-plus point game with 24 points for the Wolves, but Edwards – who earned his first All-NBA selection with the second team prior to the game – was stifled for 19 points in a team effort by the Mavericks. Karl-Anthony Towns needed a late burst to reach 16 points and finished 6 for 20 from the floor.
The star power in this series is strong, and for the first night at least the Mavericks got what they needed from their leading duo, while the Wolves largely struggled to direct the offense around theirs.
Dallas had a 62-38 edge in points in the paint.
Towns came alive with a long jumper, a lob to Rudy Gobert for a slam and a three-pointer in the span of two minutes to give the Wolves the lead back with 4:39 to go on a 10-0 run that Dončić ended with a three-pointer. PJ Washington, who had 13 points and seven rebounds, hit from deep to put the Mavericks back in front with 1:56 to go.
Towns thought he tied the game with a putback dunk on the next possession, but it was waved away due to basket interference.
Edwards, who was held scoreless in the third quarter, added 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Game 2 is here on Friday night.