The Dallas Mavericks were leading 2-0 in the Western Conference Finals when they dealt a tough blow to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks to a 109-108 Game 2 victory in a heartbreaking victory over the Timberwolves. Game 3 is scheduled for Sunday at 8 p.m. ET in Dallas (TNT).
Doncic finished with 32 points on 10-of-23 shooting, 13 assists, 10 rebounds and, of course, the game-winning point. Trailing 108-106 with four seconds left, Doncic drained a step-back 3-pointer over Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert's head to put an end to Target Center's momentum that had at one point boasted an 18-point lead.
Doncic Gobert was informed immediately of what had happened.Of course, it's Slovenian.
The Timberwolves had chances to fight back and got the ball to their best shooter of the night, Naz Reid, but he missed what would have been the game-winning shot. Reed finished with a team-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 7-of-9 from the 3-point line.
Minnesota was in control until the beginning of the fourth quarter, when an 8-0 run erased the lead and the teams went into a fierce battle. The lead changed hands 11 times in the fourth quarter, with Doncic and Kyrie Irving trading heavy shots with Reid and Anthony Edwards.
Irving made his first three-pointer of the series in the fourth quarter and then three more in the final seconds of the game. He could have been labeled the GOAT after missing three of four free throws in the quarter, but he made up for it with some great play.
It was a tough night for Minnesota, who thought they had the series-tying win in hand but struggled in the fourth quarter, managing to take a five-point lead with a minute and a half left, but that was just the catalyst for Doncic to get going again.
And then, of course, there was the referee.
Challenge controversy looms large after Mavericks benefit from Kyrie Irving's apparent foul
Less than a minute before Doncic shot, the Timberwolves were leading 108-106 and had a chance to foul Dallas into victory. What happened next was a slow-motion disaster.
Jaden McDaniels caught the ball on the baseline, but Irving tried to swat it away. Irving successfully knocked the ball away, but the umpire called the point for the Mavericks. Dallas coach Jason Kidd disputed the call.
Replays showed Kidd was right: the ball was clearly off McDaniels. But they also showed that Irving clearly tapped McDaniels on the forearm and didn't touch the ball at all. Unfortunately for the Timberwolves, the officials could only see who last touched the ball. Because the officials didn't call a foul on the play, they couldn't review whether there was a foul.
The officials gave the ball to the Mavericks with 47 seconds left, and although Doncic missed the ensuing 3-pointer, the turnover was a big blow for Minnesota.
Luka's game-winner is the greatest of all time, so I'm not taking anything away from the game, but the NBA needs to fix this 100%.
The review clearly shows that McDaniels was fouled and the ball got away from him. But you can't call a foul and give Dallas the ball. This has to change. pic.twitter.com/jf8AaUH5pu
— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) May 25, 2024
This was a classic case of the rules getting in the way of a bona fide challenge, and while the argument for relaxing the rules this offseason is strong, it will be of little consolation to the Timberwolves.
Fans at Target Center were left bitter after perhaps the game's wildest play, when Daniel Gafford blocked a Mike Conley 3-pointer, caught a full-court pass from Doncic and somehow made a layup while nearly horizontal.
Subsequent replay showed that Gafford had clearly pushed Conley in the back but still managed to get away with it.
These kinds of points are always hard to point out because there are always calls the referees miss, but they're impossible to avoid when discussing how bad the night was for Minnesota, especially when their best player is clearly out of form.
Anthony Edwards struggles at suboptimal time for Timberwolves
Few players have become more well-known this season than Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, but his past few playoff games are starting to look like a major slump.
Since Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, Edwards has shot 5 of 15, 8 of 17, 6 of 24, 6 of 16 and now 5 of 17 from the field. Through those five games, he's shot 33.7% from the field.
Sure, the Timberwolves won two of those games, and Edwards has done a lot to add value in other areas on the court (averaging seven assists per game in that same span), but he can't be one of the team's offensive burdens while swearing as much as he has in this playoff series.
Getting Edwards going will be one of Minnesota's top priorities for Game 3, but the bigger issue will be keeping Doncic calm.
