Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 66 points and Dallas returned home in a 116-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday that gave the Mavericks a 3-0 hold on their Western Conference final. NBA.
The final thriller of the series, this time in Dallas, came after the Mavs won games one and two in Minneapolis by a total of four points.
During a fourth quarter in which the teams traded leads seven times, the Mavs’ star duo went on a final 12-3 run.
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The Mavericks will have their first chance to win the series when they host Game 4 on Tuesday.
No team has come back from 3-0 down to win an NBA playoff series, but Doncic said Dallas can’t get complacent.
“We need one more,” he said. “They have an incredible team, so nothing is done.”
Doncic and Irving each finished with 33 points, with Doncic adding seven rebounds and five assists and Irving producing 14 of his points in the fourth quarter.
PJ Washington scored 16 points, hitting a three-pointer that put Dallas ahead for good, 107-104, with 3:38 to play.
Daniel Gafford blocked three shots for Dallas, including a monster rejection on Mike Conley in the final minute.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 26 points, but only had four in the fourth quarter. Anthony Edwards missed all four of his attempts in the fourth.
A bruising fight saw the Mavericks lose Derek Lively early in the second quarter after the rookie reserve took a knee to the back of the head from a leaping Karl-Anthony Towns.
The scary moment caused Mavs coach Jason Kidd to check on Lively, who had previously injured his knee in the groin due to Towns trying to guard him under the basket.
Down 12 in the second quarter, the Timberwolves had cut the deficit to eight by halftime and used a big third quarter to get back into even shape.
Edwards went for a one-handed jam that cut Dallas’ lead to 77-73 midway through the third.
He then made two putback baskets to tie the game before Naz Reid connected to make it 79-77 with less than four minutes left in the third – their first lead since the opening minutes.
It was tied at 87-87 heading into game four.
The series winners face either the Boston Celtics or the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals.
The Celtics, winners of a league-best 64 regular-season games, lead 3-0 heading into Game 4 of their Eastern Conference finals in Indianapolis on Monday.
