Wolves fall short against Mavericks in Western Conference finals rematch

Anthony Edwards' hot start wasn't enough for Minnesota.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards dribbles against the Dallas Mavericks in the first quarter at Target Center in Minneapolis on Oct. 29, 2024. / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Tuesday night's rematch of the Western Conference finals between the Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks — their first meeting since that series — at a sold-out Target Center in Minneapolis was as good as advertised.

Anthony Edwards was motivated out of the gates and dominated the first quarter. Kyrie Irving put on a show and lived up to his clutch reputation. Luka Doncic did, too, and he hit a shot from a familiar spot that was essentially the dagger in a 120-114 Timberwolves loss. The closing duo of Irving and Doncic was once again a difficult riddle to solve for the Wolves.

Doncic hit a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc on the right side of the court, a similar spot — albeit this one was deeper — to where he hit the game-winning shot over Rudy Gobert in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals this spring.

The Wolves cut it to four points with under 30 seconds to play, and Irving missed a pair of free throws to give the Wolves one last chance. But Naji Marshall forced Edwards into a turnover and hit a pair of free throws after a foul to close it out.

"I remember the (turnover) at the end with Naji Marshall. He had good hands," Edwards said. "Nothing nobody can do about that, he made a good play."

Turnovers were a problem once again for the Wolves as they had 20 on the night. The Mavs also had 12 offensive rebounds that turned into 23 second-chance points, though the Wolves had a 42-40 edge on the boards overall.

Dallas also had 20 fast-break points and had good looks in transition throughout the game.

The Wolves were still within two with under three minutes to play, but Irving hit a 3 that pushed the Mavs' lead to 112-107.

"Obviously the dagger shots at the end when you're trying to come back are super painful, but they're a result of offensive rebounds, a result of (in) transition, not getting matched up quick enough," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said.

Irving finished with 35 points and five assists, and Doncic had 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

Edwards got the Timberwolves (2-2) going early with 24 first-quarter points, the most points he's scored in a quarter in his career. He knocked down six early 3-pointers as the Wolves built a 34-26 lead. Edwards played the entire first quarter and sat to start the second. He only attempted one shot in the second frame, a missed 3, and the Wolves trailed 61-59 at half.

Edwards scored 13 the rest of the game despite having his way with the Mavericks in the first quarter.

"I just went cold pretty much," Edwards said.

Edwards finished with 37 points and six rebounds, but he did have five turnovers and missed six free throws.

"I don't know why it wasn't going in. Feel like I was shooting it the same way," Edwards said. "Just mad at myself a little bit. I'll be alright."

The Wolves opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run that included a pair of 3s from Mike Conley to take an eight-point lead, their largest of the night. But out of a timeout, the Mavericks (3-1) answered with an 11-2 run to regain the advantage.