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How the Timberwolves dominated but lost the first game. Plus, Cavaliers coaching news

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I’m 90% sure I’ve seen Montell Jordan play four times in my life. One time it was a concert in Sacramento, and the other three times it was at a Wolves halftime show.

Is there an ant problem?

Wolves dominate first game but lose by three

MINNEAPOLIS — I was in the building for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Wolves and Nonconformists, the first conference final for Minnesota in 20 years. Target Center was louder than anything I’ve ever seen Never experienced in this building. The Wolves moved the ball, knocked down 3s, and completely dominated the Mavericks in the first half. And yet you looked at the scoreboard to see it was only a three point game. How to dominate a one-possession game?

THE Timber wolves maintained this level of play for most of the evening. They seemed to control everything but never took a double-digit lead.

Kyrie Irving kept the Mavericks close in the first half. He had 24 of his 30 points at halftime and that was about the only reason Dallas stayed close. Kyrie got almost everything he wanted in the paint. This also bought the Mavericks enough time to Luka Doncic will get cooking in the fourth quarter, when he scored 15 of his game-high 33 points. At that point, the Mavericks led by eight and put the Wolves on the comeback path.

Dallas won the first game, 108-105. It really felt like Minnesota owned most of this game, but star power kept it from really messing with Dallas’ balance. We also did not see Anthony Edwards take over at any time. He said he was exhausted after the match, and, while his stat line of 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists was good, there was no point in forcing the issue. He played a measured game, but the Wolves needed him to dominate for a while.

Here are three things to watch for Game 2 on Friday night.

Points in the painting: Thanks to Kyrie’s relentless attack in the first half, the Mavericks dominated this category. They outscored the Wolves 62-38 in the paint, which is not how this game is supposed to go. Even though Minnesota reduced that number in the second half, there was plenty of occasional interventions on the disks to the hidden big men of the Mavericks.

3-point shot: The Wolves can’t feel good about making 12 more 3-pointers than the Mavericks and losing this game. But that’s what happened. Jaden McDaniels (six) made as many 3s as the Mavs, and the Wolves still lost. Dallas won’t shoot 6 of 25 anymore, so the Wolves may have lost a awesome game from McDaniels.

Edwards and KAT: Cities of Karl-Anthony had a well-deserved big streak in the fourth quarter, but his rhythm deflated when he was called for basket interference on a big dunk. In total, he had 16 points on 6-of-20 shooting. As we discussed with Edwards: Both need to establish early and close late, even for this series.

The latest news from Shams

The transformation of DJ Burns; Cavs Coaching News

Here’s a quick update on a player who captured the attention of the basketball world a few months ago.

NC State’s DJ Burns, who has become a household name for many during the Wolfpack’s Final Four this season, told me this week that he lost 45 pounds in the last six weekslargely thanks to cardio workouts at 5 a.m. four days a week (and, Burns and his representatives clearly noted, no Ozempic).

The 6-foot-9 Burns weighed 275 pounds at the end of NC State’s season and made waves for his size and demeanor as much as his skills. He won the ACC Tournament MVP and was named South Region MVP in this year’s NCAA Tournament. We’ll see if his transformation catches the attention of teams as draft season heats up.

In Cleveland, THE Riders have fired head coach JB Bickerstaff after more than four seasons. He led Cleveland to two playoff appearances during that span, including the Cavaliers earning their first playoff victory since 2018 this year. More on this in the next Bounce and on the site.

NBA Madness

Did the media correctly present this season’s selections?

The NBA announced its results for All-NBA teams yesterday, and they were breathtaking! Well, maybe it’s not surprising, but there was a some big surprises, a curious positioning and numerous arguments on the Internet concerning these results. This is a reminder that this was the first season that players had to play at least 65 games to qualify and could be selected regardless of their position. Let’s take a look at the teams and answer a few questions.

What stands out here? Right off the bat, it’s interesting that Brunson made the second team and Tatum made the first team, considering Brunson finished ahead of Tatum in MVP voting. Personally, I just voted my five MVP players as first team since the latter is positionless. I’ve seen some people wonder if Kawhi should have made the second team, but he’s been fantastic for most of this season. I think his absence in the playoffs undermines their vision of his sixth selection.

Perhaps a broader debate could be had about whether Haliburton should have achieved this. He was incredible until his hamstring injury on January 8. Afterward, he averaged 16.9 points and 9.5 assists while shooting 45.4 percent overall and just 32.3 percent from deep in 35 games. These are still good figures, but half of Haliburton’s regular season games weren’t All-NBA caliber. If its first half was so transcendent, I understand. But you could definitely argue Jaylen Brown, Paul Georges And Rudy Gobert all had fuller seasons.

Who could break through next season? The obvious answer is Victor Wembanyama, who received two votes for the second team and five for the third team. THE Spurs you just have to be decent for it to get the green light. Zion Williamson (one second, eight third votes) is another obvious candidate for any season in which he is healthy. Paolo Banchero could have the Magic at the dawn of perennial 50-win seasons. And at one point, LeBron, Curry and Durant I won’t make them anymore and will be completely out of the league…or so we think…

Pacers Revenge is coming?

Three questions going into Game 2 vs. Celtics

I’m still stunned by how the Pacers blew the first game before. the Celtics snatched it from their hands in overtime. The Celtics have a rich history, so I don’t know how much Jaylen Brown ties it 3 will go down in team playoff lore, but it was an incredible shot and moment for him. Game 2 takes place in Boston tonight and airs on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. Here are three series-related questions I’m asking myself tonight.

1. Have the Pacers already given up their chance to win? This might be too dramatic after just one game — it’s not quite the dramatic scale of Lucille Bluth, but it could be up there. To pull off an upset of this magnitude, you have to put doubt in the Celtics’ minds. Endgame Execution has been their kryptonite in recent years and the reason why so many non-Celtics fans aren’t fully buying into them, despite their dominance this season. Indiana had a chance to scare Boston, but blow game 1 ease that feeling for now.

2. Should the Celtics slow things down? The Pacers held this game to an insane level …well…the rhythm. The play on words is always intentional (you’re welcome). It’s not that the Celtics don’t have the firepower to keep up. They shot the 3-ball horribly in the first game, but still followed through on what the Pacers wanted to do. But part of the playoffs is playing with style opponents are uncomfortable imitating. Boston has plenty of volume at most positions, so it may behoove the Celtics to slow things down and try to physically break down Indiana in a tougher matchup.

3. Is Tyrese Haliburton back? As you saw above, Haliburton really struggled during the second half of the regular season. This is particularly true in relation to his quality in the first half. We have seen calls to be more aggressive, which has been a seemingly frustrating topic for the Pacers. They like the way he plays, but there’s no denying how important it’s been for him to make his shots in the last two games. He was aggressive with his scoring in Game 7 against the Knicks and continued this for the first game in Boston. The Pacers need him to maintain this pressure on their opponents.

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(Top photo: David Berding/Getty Images)

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