The Dallas Mavericks are two wins away from the NBA Finals, while the Minnesota Timberwolves are looking for a way back into the Western Conference finals. The Mavs took the first two games of this best-of-seven series in Minnesota, pulling out clutch wins twice on the road. It was Luka Doncic’s step-back 3-pointer over Rudy Gobert that won Game 2 for the Mavs, who are trying to win the West for the first time since 2011.
The Wolves will try to get back into this series on the road. Minnesota is 5-1 away from home so far in these playoffs, and that record includes a Game 7 win to oust the reigning champion Nuggets in the second round.
Doncic and Kyrie Irving have carried the Mavericks through two games. Doncic and Irving have combined to score 115 of the Mavs’ 217 points so far (53%).
Here’s what to know as the series shifts to Texas for Games 3 and 4.
Timberwolves vs. Mavericks schedule, scores
All times Eastern | * If necessary
- Game 1: Mavericks 108, Timberwolves 105 — Dallas leads 1-0
- Game 2: Mavericks 109, Timberwolves 108 — Dallas leads 2-0
- Game 3: Sunday, May 26 — Timberwolves at Mavericks, 8 p.m., TNT
- Game 4: Tuesday, May 28 — Timberwolves at Mavericks, 8:30 p.m., TNT
- Game 5*: Thursday, May 30 — Mavericks at Timberwolves, 8:30 p.m., TNT
- Game 6*: Saturday, June 1 — Timberwolves at Mavericks, 8:30 p.m., TNT
- Game 7*: Monday, June 3 — Mavericks at Timberwolves, 8:30 p.m., TNT
Timberwolves vs. Mavericks, Game 3
Where to watch
Time: 8 p.m ET | Date: Sunday, May 26
Location: American Airlines Center — Dallas
TV channel: TNT | Streaming: Watch TNT, Max
Storylines
The Wolves’ star scorers have been vastly outplayed by the Mavs star scorers so far in this series. While Doncic and Irving have led the Mavs, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns have been struggling to find their footing. Edwards is shooting 33.3% from the floor in the Western Conference finals and has 40 points in the two games. Towns, meanwhile, has been even worse at 27.8% from the floor and 21.4% (3 for 14) on 3-pointers. KAT has just 31 points on 36 shots in the series. Naz Reid, who was excellent in Game 2, has been the Wolves’ second-leading scorer. Edwards and/or Towns will need to step up if they want to continue their playoff run. Edwards is averaging 27.5 points in the playoffs and has hit the 30-point mark four times. Does he have a few more big offensive games in him?
Prediction
Series odds after Game 2: DAL -600, MIN +450
Dallas has won the first two games on the road, and they’ve done so despite several disadvantages that don’t seem especially unsustainable. In Game 1, they made one-third as many 3-pointers as Minnesota (18-to-6). They won Game 2 despite drawing 10 fewer free-throw attempts, whereas in the regular season, these teams were more or less even on that front. The simplest explanation for what we’ve thus far is that Minnesota, the No. 1 defense in the NBA, just doesn’t have a solution for Luka Doncic’s pick-and-roll game. Drop and he kills you in mid-range. Switch, as Rudy Gobert did on Game 2’s final possession, and he beats you one-on-one. Blitz and Dereck Lively beats the 4-on-3. Meanwhile, Derrick Jones Jr. and an array of doubles have stifled Anthony Edwards in ways that seem more reliable for a 22-year-old in his first playoff run. The Mavericks just seem to have figured this series out. The Pick: Mavericks -3
— Sam Quinn
