The Dallas Mavericks have taken a commanding two games to none series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2024 Western Conference Final. On Friday evening at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves 109-108. The Mavericks hero in this key playoff game was point guard Luka Doncic of Ljubljana, Slovenia who made a dramatic, game-winning three-point shot from 25 feet with three seconds left. At the time, the Mavericks were trailing the Timberwolves 108-106.
Naz Reid, the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, from Asbury Park, New Jersey, then had a three-point look himself from 27 feet at the buzzer, but his shot was unable to drop. It was a devastating loss for the Timberwolves, who had an 18-point lead of 58-40 with three minutes and 26 seconds left in the first half.
It was simply a marvelous game for Doncic, who had his fifth triple double of the 2024 postseason. He had 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. Four more Mavericks reached double digits in points. Shooting guard and Melbourne, Australia native Kyrie Irving had 20 points, power forward Daniel Gafford of El Dorado, Arkansas had 16 points, center Dereck Lively II of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had 14 points off the bench, and power forward P.J. Washington of Louisville, Kentucky had 10 points.
Even though he only had five points off the bench, it was a notable game for another Australian native on the Mavericks. Twenty-three year-old, Sydney-born shooting guard Josh Green was a team-high +15. This was the second time in the playoffs that Green was a +15, which tied a postseason high. He was also a +15 in game three of the Western Conference semifinals, a 105-101 Mavericks win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on May 11.
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