Dallas Mavericks Take 3-0 Lead Over Timberwolves in WCF: 3 Game-Changing Plays

The Mavericks are now one win away from their first NBA Finals trip since 2011

May 26, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) controls the ball against Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson (1) in the second quarter during game three of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Mavericks were ready for this game. I told someone leading in that they needed to treat this as an elimination game because Minnesota was going to play with that kind of desperation. Anthony Edwards said coming into the game he was going to shoot more, Karl-Anthony Towns said all the right things after being benched in Game 2, and the Wolves are very talented.

Dallas fired out of the gate, going up by as much as 8 in the first quarter and by as much as 12 in the second quarter. They were dictating the pace on offense, the defense was making life difficult for Minnesota, and Kyrie Irving was taking advantage of the Mike Conley matchup.

Unfortunately, Dallas took a big blow to their rotation that took the wind out of their sails, which is where we pick up the plays.

READ MORE: Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving Guide Dallas Mavericks to Commanding 3-0 Series Lead Over Timberwolves

DLIVE pic.twitter.com/5OUbdRDxa7

— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) May 27, 2024

The game unquestionably changed here. Dereck Lively II has been instrumental for Dallas, especially in the fourth quarters of this series. He took a knee to the back of the neck from Karl-Anthony Towns and was ruled out for the game in the second quarter with a neck sprain.

You could tell on TV that the life was sucked out of the building. It wasn't quite as loud and everyone was worried about the rookie out of Duke. Dallas closed the half fine, but it became apparent throughout the rest of the game that the Mavericks missed his minutes.

Instead of rolling out Lively to replace Daniel Gafford, they had to play small with P.J. Washington or play the veteran Dwight Powell, who just isn't good enough to play in this series. For the game, Powell was 0/2 and a -1 in 7 minutes.

Lively's status is uncertain moving forward, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him sit in Game 4.

READ MORE: Key Dallas Mavericks Center Suffers Injury, Leaves Game 3 of WCF Against Timberwolves

P.J. Washington... CLUTCH.

Mavs (leading 2-0) go up 3 late on TNT 👀 pic.twitter.com/x76AcUVn6J

— NBA (@NBA) May 27, 2024

Despite the Mavericks having a decent lead in the first half, Minnesota stormed back, taking advantage of the lack of energy in the building from the Lively injury. There was a MONSTER slam from Anthony Edwards over Daniel Gafford, big shot-making from Mike Conley, and a LOT of fouls from Minnesota.

The Wolves worked themselves back into the game and took a few leads in the 3rd and 4th quarters, but the teams found themselves tied at 104 with under 4 minutes to go. In situations like that, it's nice to have players like Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Luka saw Edwards had his back turned to the corner and passed to Irving before the screen was set, who quickly passed it to P.J. Washington in the corner.

Washington had scored 23 total points in the first two games and shot just 2/12 from 3. He doesn't hesitate as he gets the pass, pulls the triggers, and knocks the shot down to give Dallas the lead, dapping up Patrick Mahomes on the way back down the court. The Mavericks wouldn't look back.

What a performance by Daniel Gafford

Dereck Lively knocked out of the game, Gafford stepped up in a massive way on both ends. Put the dagger in Minnesota with this block and dunk. pic.twitter.com/WCCxTe5ec0

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 27, 2024

Both of these plays needed to be mentioned, so shoutout to The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor for putting them in one tweet for me once again. Without Lively in the closing rotation, as had been the case this series, Gafford needed to play well. Powell was giving the team nothing and Washington just isn't big enough to play major minutes at the 5.

Gafford sends Conley's shot off the backboard with under a minute left, then follows it up on the other end with a monster one-handed slam plus the foul. This sequence officially put the game on ice, with the Mavs going on to win 116-107, pushing the Timberwolves to 2-6 when their opponent scores more than 100 points in the playoffs.

Dallas now has a 3-0 series lead, sitting one win away from the NBA Finals.

The biggest flip in this game from the first two was Dallas' 3-point shooting. They shot just 32.1% from deep in the first two games but scorched the nets in this one: 14/28 for 50%, even missing some WIDE open looks early in the game.

Even outside of the threes, Dallas shot 55.9% from the floor as a team. Their offense was clicking on all cylinders for most of the game and they're doing it against the best defense in the NBA for the regular season.

Luka Doncic finished with 33 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals while shooting 50% from the floor. Kyrie Irving also had 33 points, adding 4 assists and 3 rebounds. When you get 66 points from your two superstars, it's hard to lose games, but this one was still close.

Washington has his best game of the series, finishing with 16 points and 8 rebounds while holding Karl-Anthony Towns to 5/18 from the floor and just 14 points. In Towns' last five games, he is 4/32 from distance. So much for being the best shooting big man of all time, especially when playing in front of Dirk Nowitzki.

Anthony Edwards said he was going to shoot more in this game, which did happen. He finished with his best game of the series with 26 points, shooting 11/24 from the floor. He had a magical stretch in the third quarter, between the insane poster dunk and a few mid-range pullups. He just couldn't get it done in the 4th.

The Mavericks will look to close the series out on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, hoping to sweep their way to the finals.

READ MORE: Inside Luka Doncic's Historic Game-Winning Shot to Lift Dallas Mavericks Over Timberwolves

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