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How Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving led Mavericks to NBA Finals with blowout Game 5 win over Timberwolves
The Dallas Mavericks are headed to the NBA Finals after a 124-103 Game 5 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves that was even more lopsided than the final score suggested. Luka Dončić immediately crushed any hope the Minnesota crowd had for an improbable comeback, dropping 20 points in the first quarter and 36 for the game en route to winning series MVP. Kyrie Irving matched his superstar teammate with 36 points of his own.
Dallas now advances to face the Boston Celtics in a Finals series rich with storylines. Game 1 is Thursday at 8:30 p.m. The Timberwolves, meanwhile, must deal with a summer of difficult questions after their best season in 20 years.
- Tim Cato: Luka Dončić stands on precipice of greatness that always seemed inevitable
- Jon Krawczynski: Timberwolves’ offseason questions include an ownership fight, Tim Connelly and a looming bill
- John Hollinger: In NBA Finals, Celtics and Mavs face different challenges from what they just conquered
- Box score, stats and more
- Full recap and three takeaways from our writers on the scene
- Luka Dončić wins West finals MVP in style
- Everything you need to know about this NBA Finals matchup
Will Kristaps Porziņģis return to face his former team?
When Kristaps Porziņģis joined the Boston Celtics, he expected to see what life was like beyond the first round. During his time with the Dallas Mavericks, he and Luka Dončić never won a playoff series.
Everyone else in the Celtics' rotation has been to the NBA Finals, so it was safe for Porziņģis to presume he'd at least get a taste of the second round. Then he was injured against the Miami Heat in the first round, was ruled out with a left soleus calf strain and hasn’t seen the floor since.
But Wednesday, exactly a month after suffering the injury, Porziņģis posted on X that he expects to get a taste of deep playoff action.
"Thank you to everyone who is supporting and cheering me on all season long," Porziņģis posted Wednesday, as translated by Latvian journalist Aivis Kalniņš. "Very soon I will be back and ready to play. See you in the finals and then in Arena (Riga) with our guys."
The last part of the post refers to Porziņģis’ participation with the Latvian national team in this summer’s Olympic qualifying tournament.
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Kristaps Porziņģis could return for Celtics in NBA Finals as potential Mavs reunion looms
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What can we expect from a Celtics-Mavericks Finals series?
If you like 3s, this finals matchup is for you. The Celtics led the NBA in 3s made and attempted this season. The Mavericks were second in 3s attempted and third in 3s made per game.
Additionally, according to Synergy, the three playoff opponents of the Celtics ranked no higher than 15th in total isolation possessions that included passes during the regular season. The only teams with more isolation possessions than the Celtics were the Mavericks and the league-leading Clippers, the team Dallas beat in the quarterfinals.
Boston won both regular-season matchups against Dallas. In January's 119-110 victory, Jayson Tatum had 39 points and 11 rebounds, while the Celtics were without Kristaps Porziņģis during the second night of a road back-to-back. The Mavs had four days off.
In March in Boston, the Celtics won 138-110 as Jaylen Brown put up 25 points and the team shot 55.3 percent compared to the Mavericks’ 46.8 percent shooting. That was after the trade deadline with both rotations fully healthy.
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In the physical NBA, where emotions run high and players often battle with referees, Minnesota Timberwolves veteran guard Mike Conley holds a unique distinction.
He has never received a technical foul in 1,101 regular-season and 93 postseason games.
Since being drafted in 2007, Conley has displayed his composure. Well, there was that one time in 2014.
While he was with the Memphis Grizzlies and playing against the Sacramento Kings in a regular-season game, he did receive a technical, but the league rescinded it the next day.
Luka Dončić enjoys his new hardwood, but yearns for even more
Bruce Kluckhohn / USA Today
MINNEAPOLIS — As Luka Dončić sat down in the tiny postgame news conference room, the smallest one he'll be in until his season ends, he placed a trophy on the table in front of him. It was given to him after being voted the MVP in the Western Conference finals, the award starting with a gleaming gold dais of sorts that supported the silver orb atop it. He wasn't sure, he admitted, how it'll fit into his trophy case.
"(It'll go) home," said Dončić, the only destination he was sure of in this moment. "I don't know where yet."
Dončić’s glittering accolades are too numerous to list. He has a trophy from Real Madrid’s 2018 EuroLeague championship, but none from Slovenia's first-ever EuroBasket victory in 2017. There are countless plaques and medallions, too many to remember, from past tournaments and finals he starred in long ago. What was on his mind, other than a postgame beer, wasn't his new metallic hunk, but the pursuit of one even more golden.
On Thursday, in Game 5's 124-103 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dončić advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career. Along with him came his new set of teammates, the best he's ever had, amplifying their transcendent superstar who seemed destined to reach this stage.
Now he has.
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Mavericks’ Luka Dončić stands on precipice of greatness that always seemed inevitable
Anthony Edwards insists Wolves will 'be back', but it won't be that easy
MINNEAPOLIS — As he tried to process it all afterward, the season, the loss, the Minnesota Timberwolves' rise and fall, Anthony Edwards was certain of one thing: This was only the beginning.
"It's a lot of our guys' first time being in this light, especially me," Edwards said. "It's my first time. But we'll be ready, man. We'll be all right. First time. Took a loss. Congratulations to the Mavericks. But we'll be back."
If only it could be that easy. Before the Wolves can look to build on the considerable success they enjoyed this season, they have some existential questions to answer.
President of basketball operations Tim Connelly can opt out of his contract and become a free agent in the coming days. Team governor Glen Taylor is battling with Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to see who will own the team. And whoever wins the fight for ownership is about to have a gigantic luxury tax bill, which will factor into whether the team runs it back next season with the same core or trades pieces to reconfigure the roster.
That's a lot for a team with so much young talent and so much promise to figure out.
"You can’t skip any steps," coach Chris Finch said. "The West is going to be a monster next year, as it continues to be every year. There were a lot of things we did well this year. I'm super proud of our guys. Just building another layer of foundation to try to get where we want to go."
Read my full story with Shams Charania on the Timberwolves' many offseason challenges.
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Timberwolves’ offseason questions: Ownership fight, Tim Connelly and a looming bill
While You Were Sleeping: Luka Dončić is a savage
The Dallas Mavericks are heading to the NBA Finals after a breathtaking 124-103 Game 5 win over the Timberwolves in Minnesota. Luka Dončić scored 20 of his 36 points in the first quarter. Kyrie Irving added 36 of his own. The Wolves never had a chance, and now the 25-year-old Dončić — playing better basketball than anyone on Earth right now — will play in his first Finals, while Irving returns for the first time since seven years ago with Cleveland. It’s also fun that Irving is playing the Celtics, a team he left on bad terms. We’ll have plenty more on this over the next week, but for now, listen to our postgame podcast breakdown below.
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What's at stake in these upcoming NBA Finals?
Brian Fluharty / Getty Images
Boston — with star players Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — is back in the Finals for the second time in three years. Its squad is a 2.0 version of last year's team after offseason deals to land 7-foot-2 center Kristaps Porziņģis, who led the Celtics in blocks per game and was the team’s third-best scorer behind Tatum and Brown in the regular season, as well as Jrue Holiday, who earned All-Defensive First Team honors this season.
While Porziņģis has been out since suffering a calf injury in Game 4 against the Heat, he could return for the Finals, which would provide a major boost for a team in pursuit of its first title since 2008.
Dallas, led by the potent combo of MVP finalist Luka Dončić and eight-time NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving, has already beaten the oldest team in the NBA (Clippers), the youngest team that made the playoffs (Thunder) and the league's best defensive team (Timberwolves). Now they're looking to defeat the NBA’s best offensive team this season by taking down the mighty Celtics to win the franchise’s second title.
There’s also the added intrigue of both Porziņģis and Irving playing against their former teams. Irving was with the Celtics from 2017 to 2019, while Porziņģis played for the Mavericks from 2019 to 2022.
Additionally, there are storylines to follow on the coaching side. At 35 years old, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is the youngest head coach to reach the NBA Finals since Bill Russell won a title with the Celtics over the Lakers in 1969. Russell was 35 at the time but was also playing for the team.
Similar to Mazzulla, a championship would be a first for the Mavericks’ Jason Kidd as a head coach. Kidd, 51, won a title as a player for the Mavericks in 2011 and as an assistant coach for the Lakers in 2020.
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Don't forget to credit this Mavericks defense
One of the underrated things about this Mavericks team where Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving deservedly get most of the shine is their defense. I think people know their defense has improved, but it's improved to the best defense in the NBA over the last quarter of the season. The additions of Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington gave them versatile size that shuts off the paint, and it took the pressure off Dereck Lively II to play mistake-free basketball in protecting the paint.
The Wolves have been a flawed offense all season long, but the Mavericks put a massive spotlight on those flaws. In Game 5, they forced Rudy Gobert to take a lot of shots early as Dončić built their lead. They perfectly funneled the where Minnesota wasn’t comfortable, and as they made Minnesota play a more defensive-minded lineup to protect that end of the floor. They made every non-offensive threat carry the burden.
The role players have bought in completely to what Jason Kidd is preaching on that end of the floor, and they head into the NBA Finals with a defensive effort and execution that legitimately threatens the Celtics.
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How Luka Dončić keyed Mavericks to Game 5 blowout over Timberwolves to win Western Conference finals
Luka Dončić: The obvious West finals MVP
MINNEAPOLIS — During a run-of-the-mill, mundane, mid-January game, or at crunch time on national TV during the Western Conference finals, whether he was proving it with a feathery stepback jumper or screaming it toward the opposing team’s bench, Luka Dončić has been telling us the same thing all season.
You can’t guard me.
The message finally got the response he was looking for: an MVP award.
Dončić, 25, the Dallas Mavericks superstar, perennial regular-season MVP candidate and reigning NBA scoring champ, was the easy choice for the Magic Johnson trophy following his team’s series-clinching win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.
It is Dončić’s first trip to the NBA Finals in his sixth season.
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Celtics-Mavericks: An NBA Finals with plenty of intrigue
Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown or Luka Dončić will earn their first championship.
Kyrie Irving is aiming for his second championship.
Kristaps Porziņģis and Irving face their former teams.
Jason Kidd is going for a title as both a Mavericks player and coach.
P.J. Washington started the season on the Hornets.
Daniel Gafford started the season on the Wizards.
Now, they're heading to the NBA Finals on the Mavericks.
"We went from the bottom to the top!"
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'Did you say blast or last?'
As the Inside the NBA crew signed off for the 2023-24 season, Ernie Johnson said that next season is going to be a "blast."
Charles Barkley joked, asking Ernie: "Did you say blast or last?"
The crew broke out in laughter as next season might be the end for Inside the NBA, with TNT's NBA media contract expiring.
Luka Dončić to Inside the NBA crew: 'You're not done yet'
Luka Dončić came on Inside the NBA to chat with Shaq, Ernie, Kenny and Charles about advancing to the NBA Finals.
As the interview wrapped up, Barkley said "we're going to miss you," signaling that this is TNT's last NBA game of the 2023-24 season.
Dončić replied: "You're not done yet...you got to figure out something."
TNT has one more year of NBA broadcast coverage left before the media contract expires.
'1-2-3 Mavs'
The TNT broadcast showed the Mavericks celebrating in the locker room after advancing to the NBA Finals.
Coach Jason Kidd called the team in before giving Western Conference finals MVP Luka Dončić the floor.
Dončić yelled "One, two, three...Mavs!"
The whole team yelled "Mavs," as the jubilation continued.
What happens in Minnesota now?
Jordan Johnson / NBAE via Getty Images
One of the most successful, exhilarating seasons in Timberwolves history came to a crashing end. After being so competitive in the first four games, the Wolves were completely demolished by Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving in Game 5. Whether it was age or fatigue or pressure or whatever, the Wolves were not ready for what Dončić unleashed on them in the first quarter.
Anthony Edwards was taken out of the game too easily by the Mavs defense. Karl-Anthony Towns missed his first four 3-pointers, Jaden McDaniels was in foul trouble before the game was five minutes old. Naz Reid had his worst game of the season. I''s something all young teams have to go through. They have to lose before they can win.
Dončić and Irving have been there. So many of these young Wolves have not, and it showed. Dallas ran precise offense and got to the shots it wanted. Minnesota was frenetic, turning the ball over and succumbing to what the Mavericks wanted them to do way too easily.
Now the Wolves will have to use the embarrassment from this loss as fuel going forward. Edwards will need to get in better shape for the grind of a season that goes this deep. McDaniels will have to sharpen his defensive tactics to avoid foul trouble and add to his offensive game to become more of a threat. Towns will have to find a way to play more under control in the biggest moments.
If they can do that, this loss will be worth it. But there is a lot of work ahead of them.
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Chris Finch: 'We're very disappointed'
After Game 5, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said the team is "disappointed" about falling short of the NBA Finals.
He spoke on the regrets of the "early parts of this series."
But praised the season Minnesota had.
"It's been a great year. Really proud of the guys. The way the city got behind the team and the fans. It's special."
