'We'll be ready': Wolves eager to face Mavs in rematch of West finals

Minnesota faces Dallas for the first time since last season came to an unpleasant end.

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving celebrates during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals at Target Center in Minneapolis on May 30, 2024. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The last memory of the Dallas Mavericks for Mike Conley and the Timberwolves wasn’t a pleasant one. The Mavericks were celebrating a 124-103 victory on the Target Center court in downtown Minneapolis on May 30. Dallas had just won Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, and with it, completed a 4-1 series victory to reach the NBA Finals.

The Timberwolves have had time to reflect on that stinging defeat, and for the first time since then, the Wolves will get a chance to avenge the series loss when they host the Mavericks for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff Tuesday night at Target Center.

“We’re looking forward to it. We’re looking forward to it,” Conley said. “We understand the last time we saw them how we felt, and you don’t want anybody celebrating on your home court, and that’s our last memory. So, we’ll be ready to go.” 

It’s a much different Timberwolves team than the one that faced Dallas a season ago as they've swapped Karl-Anthony Towns swapped for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. It remains to be seen whether they'll be more equipped to face the Mavericks this season with the new-look roster, but Tuesday can perhaps at least provide a first glimpse, even if it won't provide an answer entirely as the Wolves continue to adjust and integrate new faces into new lineup combinations.

“They deserved to win that series,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said of the Mavericks. “They outplayed us. But there was much of that series that was up for grabs, so I thought we were well equipped to do things last year. … This is still a new team, new season, so we’ll see.”

As they've reflected on the Western Conference finals, the Wolves felt they missed opportunities in that series. Conley pointed to the poor late-game execution, whether it was a missed playmaking opportunity or a poor rotation on defense.

Similarly, Rudy Gobert said that while the Mavericks are a very good team, he felt the Wolves lacked in their attention to detail. Gobert felt missed details cost them the first two games, which the Wolves lost by a total of four points combined.

Instead of winning both or even splitting those, the Wolves ultimately fell into a 3-0 series hole they couldn't recover from.

“You look back and you’re like, ‘We were this close from potentially getting to the NBA Finals,’” Gobert said. “But at the same time, it wasn’t our time. It wasn’t our turn. It’s about not dwelling on those losses, but making sure the next time we get there, we will be more ready and then able to take that next step, take that opportunity.“

The Wolves are three games into their journey of attempting to return to the Western Conference finals, with an ultimate goal of going even further this season. It certainly won't be an easy task, and this week alone, they'll face two teams they had to get through to reach the conference finals last season in the Mavericks and Denver Nuggets.

They're excited to start that gauntlet on Tuesday with a rematch of the Western Conference finals.

“I think we have all the tools to be as good as we want to be. It’s on us to take that next step, that next step that allows us to be the team that can potentially win a championship,” Gobert said.