Kyrie Irving Leads Mavericks Over Timberwolves in WCF Rematch, 120-114

Anthony Edwards started the game scorching hot, but Dallas overcame it and moved to 3-1 on the season.

Oct 29, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) dribbles against Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) in the first quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks traveled north to play the Minnesota Timberwolves on the second night of a back-to-back. It's the first rematch of last year's Western Conference Finals, and the Wolves wanted to make up for last season's disappointment.

Both teams started their usual lineups, with Dallas rolling with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford, and the Timberwolves going with Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert. Their addition of Randle came just before the season started, so they're still working out the kinks there.

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Anthony Edwards started the game with a stop on Irving, atoning for his calling out of Irving before last year's series, and then finished with a crafty layup at the basket on the other end. Dallas' next eight points came in the paint, not being afraid of Gobert's presence. Edwards had 10 of Minnesota's first 12 points to give them a 12-11 lead, but Dallas responded immediately with a Gafford leak-out dunk.

The next few minutes were back and forth. Randle hit a three to put the TWolves ahead, and then Luka Doncic responded with a finish through contact (no foul) to tie it, Jaden McDaniels responded with an easy two, and then Doncic got the make-up and-one on the other end to send the game to its first timeout.

Jason Kidd was forced to take a timeout after Anthony Edwards hit his fourth three-pointer of the quarter to give him 17 of Minnesota's first 27 points. He was already 6/8 from the floor and was absolutely feeling it. That heater only continued after the timeout, as he'd score a total of 24 points in the opening frame to give the Wolves a 34-26 lead heading into the second. Dallas hung around for most of the quarter but collapsed in the final few minutes.

Minnesota would break open a 10-point lead to start the second quarter after Daniel Gafford left the game with an apparent lower leg injury (he'd return later), and Dallas suffered a rare stretch of consistent turnovers. A P.J. Washington transition finish and Kyrie Irving three would quickly get the game back down to five points, though. At this point, Minnesota had made ten three-pointers to Dallas' three, but the game was still within striking distance.

Dallas would take the lead with a little more than 4:30 remaining in the period following a transition three from P.J. Washington and then Luka Doncic lobbing it up for Dereck Lively II. A Klay Thompson technical free throw and three-pointer pushed the Mavs' lead up to five to give them their largest lead to this point. A couple of baskets later, Randle re-gained the lead for Minnesota before Washington answered with a three on the other end.

Luka Doncic would head to the locker room a few minutes before halftime after an apparent lower leg injury, but the Mavs were able to hold onto a 61-59 lead heading into the break. He was leading the team with 13 points, but Washington, Gafford, and Irving were all in double figures as well. After 24 points in the first quarter, Edwards was held scoreless in the second quarter, only attempting one shot.

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Doncic came out of the locker room to start the second half, but Minnesota scored the first ten points to take a 69-61 lead before Coach Kidd called timeout. But a couple of threes by PJ Washington and Kyrie Irving, then an Irving leak out, cut the lead right back down to two. Irving pushed them back ahead with a step-in three.

Minnesota was ice cold in the middle part of the period, having a 1/8 stretch, which allowed Dallas to go up seven following Quentin Grimes' second three-pointer of the night. He'd hit another three after Minnesota free throws to give the Mavs their biggest lead of the night- eight. Another three from Kyrie Irving pushed the lead even further to 11. Heading into the 4th, Dallas had taken a commanding 93-82 lead.

Naz Reid and Luka Doncic were trading buckets to start the fourth quarter. Minnesota started to chip away at the lead with Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaden McDaniels hitting threes to get the lead down to five, but Kyrie Irving was doing a tremendous job of keeping the offense afloat.

With five minutes to go, Dallas led by five. Alexander-Walker hit a running bank shot to get the lead down to three but was answered by Irving with a tough layup on the other end. McDaniels getting loose for a wide-open layup forced a timeout by the Mavs with four minutes to go. After the timeout, they turned Washington loose for a wide-open lob, and Minnesota took a timeout soon after that to lead into the final three minutes of the game.

Rudy Gobert cut the lead to two with free throws, but Kyrie Irving was feeling it and hit a late-clock three over Randle to push the lead back to five. A few possessions later, the refs missed PJ Washington stepping out of bounds on an offensive rebound, which led to Luka Doncic hitting a BOMB from ten feet behind the three-point line, pushing the lead back up to eight with a little over a minute remaining. That was his first and only made three of the night.

Anthony Edwards hit a big three to get the lead down to four in the final 30 seconds, and Kyrie Irving missed both free throws to make the game interesting, but Naji Marshall picked Edwards' pocket and hit both free throws on the other end to push the lead back to six with 12.6 seconds remaining. That would be enough for Dallas to win 120-114 and move to 3-1 on the season.

Three-point defense and free-throw line rebounding were the biggest concerns for Dallas from this game. Minnesota was red-hot from deep all game, finishing 19/39 from behind the arc, and the Mavs gave up at least three offensive rebounds from missed free throws, and that almost always leads to points.

The biggest difference in the game was turnovers, as Minnesota turned it over 20 times to Dallas' 9. In the second half alone, it was 10-1, Dallas' advantage.

Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks with 35 points, and after struggling in the first half, Doncic rebounded a little to finish with 24 points, adding eight rebounds and nine assists. PJ Washington (17 points, eight rebounds) and Daniel Gafford (14 points) also finished in double figures, with Dereck Lively II adding nine rebounds and three steals.

Minnesota was led by Anthony Edwards' 37 points, who cooled off after his scorching opening quarter. The Timberwolves had four other players score in double-figures to help him out, too: Julius Randle (20 points), Naz Reid (14), Jaden McDaniels (13), and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (11).

The Mavericks return home to play the Rockets on Thursday night.

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