Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving try again to push Dallas Mavericks past Minnesota Timberwolves

MINNESOTA – Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving disagreed on one thing after the Dallas Mavericks lost 105-100 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on May 28 in what could have been a series-clinching win in the Western Conference Finals.

“I think that game’s on me,” Slovenian star Doncic said. “I just didn’t give enough energy.”

But Irving thought otherwise.

“A lot of this is on me,” the veteran guard insisted. “I had spurts, we had spurts, but I’ve got to put a full 48 minutes of a game together.”

That game is over now, and the Mavericks still lead 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.

On May 30 in Minneapolis (May 31, Singapore time), Dallas and their two stars will have a clean slate and another chance to advance. All they need is a Game 5 win to reach the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals, where the mighty Boston Celtics await.

They are playing on the road but they can also be encouraged by the fact that until today, no NBA team have fought back from a 3-0 deficit to win a play-off series.

The Mavericks will aim to make it to their first Finals since the 2010-11 season, when Dirk Nowitzki led the franchise to their first and only NBA championship.

Minnesota, on the other hand, would love to derail Dallas’ dreams.

While Doncic and Irving are the key men for the Mavericks, the Timberwolves will count on Anthony Edwards, who led the team with 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in Game 4, and Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 25 points with five boards.

That victory marked Minnesota’s first triumph in the Western Conference Finals since 2004 against the Los Angeles Lakers, who later advanced.

So, how does the win change the complexion of the series?

“It doesn’t,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “We’ve just got to win again.”

To do so, Edwards and Towns must be at their best.

Towns struggled in the first three games of the series, shooting 15 of 54 (27.8 per cent) from the field and three of 22 (13.6 per cent) from beyond the three-point line.

But he found his rhythm in Game 4 as he made nine of 13 shots overall and four of five attempts from deep.

Finch praised Towns for his perseverance.

“Kat is a great player,” he said.

“His struggles were not going to last forever. He got himself going. Even when he got deep in foul trouble, we left him out there.

“Just let him roll. He played smart, played under control, rebounded really well for us, executed defensively. Really proud of him.”

For Dallas, Doncic is eager to bounce back from what he perceived as a lacklustre performance, even if it resulted in a triple-double in Game 4. He finished with 28 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists but shot seven of 21 from the field.

Irving finished with 16 points on six-for-18 shooting.

The Mavericks hope to welcome back Dereck Lively II for Game 5. Lively did not play in the previous game after Towns’ knee hit the back of his head a game earlier.

Daniel Gafford took on a larger role in Lively’s absence and finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Maxi Kleber, in his first game since May 3 because of a right shoulder injury, contributed two points and one rebound off the bench.

Doncic said he and his teammates were eager for another chance to move on, and has clearly been doing his mathematics.

“We’ve got to win four games,” he said. “So, we’ve got to win one more game. That’s it.” REUTERS