The Western Conference Finals will begin with a victory for the Dallas Mavericks. First Kyrie Irving went on a run against the Minnesota Timberwolves – and then Luka Doncic.
The Dallas Mavericks won the first game of the playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves and immediately gained an advantage in the conference finals. The team around stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving won a 108:105 away victory in Minneapolis. In an intense game with 15 lead changes, Doncic with 33 points and Irving with 30 points were the decisive players. Würzburg’s Maxi Kleber is still out of the Mavericks due to a shoulder injury suffered in the playoffs.
“We had to work really hard for this. But this is only one win, we need three more,” said Slovenian Doncic to TV channel TNT and praised Irving’s strong performance. “If he doesn’t finish we’re done. I have to help him in the second half, we’re switching roles this time.” His teammate Irving added: “It was exciting until the end and it will be like that for the rest of the series.” Irving scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half. Doncic scored 15 of his 33 points in the final quarter.
To reach the NBA Finals, a team needs four wins in the best-of-seven series. The away victory for the Mavericks is very valuable: in theory, the team should already win the games at home. The second game of the series takes place again in Minneapolis on Saturday night in Germany, after which we head to Dallas for two games. In the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Pacers will play against the Boston Celtics, who have a 1-0 lead in the series after their home win.
In Minneapolis, the teams gave the audience a consistently exciting performance. The hosts pulled more than five points ahead several times in the first half, but were never able to pull away decisively. For the Mavericks, it was their first win to start after five initial losses in the previous playoff series.