MINNEAPOLIS — After swinging his 32-foot step-back dagger into the net, Luka Doncic looked to the Target Center crowd and shouted a profane reminder to no one in particular.
“That's what I'm doing,” roared Doncic after a shot past the Minnesota Timberwolves' half-court logo with 1:04 remaining in their 120-114 win on Tuesday gave the Dallas Mavericks an eight-point lead. Reached. Night.
It was certainly a familiar scene. Doncic's clutch efforts highlighted the Mavs' five-game victory over the Timberwolves in last season's Western Conference Finals.
“We've seen this film before,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “He loves a chance to win the game. He's not afraid, and he stepped up and made a big shot.”
Call it a sequel. The most memorable moment of the Mavs' run to the NBA Finals last spring occurred on the same end of Target Center Court, when Doncic danced with his dribble before drilling a Game 2-winning step-back 3-pointer over a four-point defensive tackle. Had done. Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
Doncic celebrated the shot by loudly informing Gobert that the big man couldn't guard him, uttering a few expletives during his trash talk, although he later joked that he was speaking Slovenian.
Doncic took this dagger at Timberwolves guard Nickell Alexander-Walker and took the time to respond to the fan base that expressed their harsh feelings toward him throughout the game.
“I heard a lot of things. They really like me here,” Doncic said with dry wit after his 27-point, 8-rebound, 9-assist performance. “You know, last year was fun. It was a big moment in my career and my life, so it was fun to come back here.”
In the West Finals, Dallas became the first team in the play-by-play era (since 1997–98) to take a 3–0 series lead despite five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN Research. That game. The Mavs gave the Timberwolves a painful reminder of their closing skills in the first meeting between these teams this season.
As was the case in the playoffs, Kyrie Irving co-starred with Doncic. The Wolves didn't lead by much this time, but Minnesota trimmed the Mavs' lead to 11 points entering the fourth quarter and led by one-possession margins on four occasions in the final four minutes.
The Mavs answered with a bucket each time: a driving layup by Irving, an alley-oop from Doncic to PJ Washington, an Irving 3 off the dribble and a Doncic finger roll after attacking Gobert on a closeout.
The Mavs scored 21 points in the final 7:15, as Doncic and Irving combined for 16 points.
“It's just a time to win,” said Irving, who scored 25 of his team-high 35 points in the second half. “I knew we needed to create some separation in the game to keep that confidence going.” , and it worked out well for us. but we know that [Minnesota] It will be a little different every time we play them. They're going to make a little adjustment here and there. And in the future, we will see them more often.”
Another similarity to last season's West Finals: Doncic was dealing with right knee pain. He hobbled out to the locker room with 70 seconds remaining in the second quarter when Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels inadvertently hit him from behind on a drive.
Doncic returned to start the second half. His knee, which was sprained during most of the playoffs, had a bandage on it. He tested it with a series of jogs, skips, hops and defensive slides in the last few minutes of halftime.
It wasn't until the fourth quarter, when Doncic led all scorers with 11 points, that he got into a rhythm. He has had a slow start to the season after missing the entire training camp and preseason with a left calf injury. He's shooting just 36.4% from the field and 26.8% from 3-point range for the 3-1 Mavs.
Doncic was 10 of 27 from the field and missed his first seven 3s on Tuesday night, a drought he ended with his 32-foot dagger.
“I don't know how I can make those shots and not make normal shots,” Doncic said. “I don't know how I do it. At the end of the day, I just have to shake the rust off. I'll be back. I didn't play the whole preseason, so I need some time. But we got the win, that's all that matters.” “