NBA Series: Luka Doncic and the Mavericks eliminate the Timberwolves and advance to the final

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The brilliance of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving allowed the Dallas Mavericks to join the Boston Celtics in the NBA final, after defeating the Minnesota Timberwalls 124-103 on Thursday evening.

The Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves in five games to join the Boston Celtics in the final, which begins on June 6.

Doncic and Irving dominated the game with 36 points each. The Slovenian also collected 10 rebounds.

In NBA history, No. 77 has the best average points per game after a playoff loss at 34.2 (before Thursday night's game).

“I wanted to set the tone at the beginning of the game, and not have them put two defenders on me,” Doncic commented.

” [En finale]Our defense will be key against the best team in the NBA. »

He also became the fourth player in history to achieve 450 points, 150 rebounds, and 150 assists during a single spring tournament.

“He made his teammates understand that it was time to take things to the next level,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said of Doncic. He sent out invitations and the entire team responded. »

In the first quarter, Doncic already scored 20 points. This is the second time in his career that he has achieved such a performance in the playoffs.

After two quarters, the Mavericks led comfortably 69-40 and the Mavs' star duo had more points than the entire T-Wolves team at that point.

Irving, the Mavs' No. 11, now has a 15-1 record in games where the opponent faces elimination.

In the loss, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 28 points.

“It just hasn't worked out collectively for our team in this series,” Edwards said. In the previous two series, we were all on the same page, our shots and everything. This time, that was not the case. »

Remember, this was the first time in 20 years that the T-Wolves found themselves in the conference finals.

This is the third time in history that the Mavericks have reached the final. The last time was in 2011, when they beat the Miami Heat in 6 games.

As for the Celtics, they reached the Finals two years ago, when they lost to the Golden State Warriors in 6 games.

The Mavericks will have a full week of rest before returning to action. This will be a chance for Irving and Kristaps Porzingis of the Celtics to take on their former teams.