Minnesota Timberwolves stay alive in NBA West finals with Game 4 road win over Dallas Mavericks

DALLAS – That one win on May 28 was just about pride, but the next three will be about history.

The Minnesota Timberwolves will be hoping to get there after they stayed alive in the Western Conference Finals, riding on Anthony Edwards’ game-high 29 points and Karl-Anthony Towns’ recalibrated long-range shooting to a 105-100 road victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4.

With their first win in the best-of-seven series, the Timberwolves earned a Game 5 opportunity at home on May 30, hoping to blaze a trail to become the first team in National Basketball Association (NBA) history to rally and advance after trailing 3-0 in a play-off series.

But winning the series was not on the team’s radar in Game 4, Edwards admitted afterwards.

“We just wanted to get one game and extend the series,” he said.

“I’ve never been swept in my career. I didn’t want to get swept. Not on their home court, hearing their fans talk trash all day. I think I was aggressive. I didn’t shy away from the ball and they kept giving it to me and trusting me.”

Luka Doncic posted a 28-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double for the Mavericks, who won the first two games of the series in a previous trip to Minneapolis.

After Minnesota led by as many as 12 early on, the teams battled on even terms for the first 18-plus minutes of the second half, with a Towns three-pointer with five minutes and 41 seconds remaining giving the Timberwolves a 92-90 lead.

The visitors never trailed again, thanks in large part to Towns, whose three-pointer on Minnesota’s next possession made it a five-point game.

Dallas’ best chance to draw even down the stretch came when Doncic misfired on a trey, as the hosts trailed 95-92 with 3min 18sec remaining.

When Towns connected again from beyond the arc with 2min 54sec to go, and Edwards followed with a bank shot in the lane 67 seconds later, the Timberwolves had broken things open at 100-92.

“That was on me,” said Doncic. “(I) didn’t give enough energy.”

A desperate three-pointer by the Slovenian as he was being fouled with 13.2 seconds left kept the Mavericks alive at 103-100, but he missed the subsequent free throw.

After a timeout, Naz Reid got behind the Dallas defence for a game-clinching layup with 11.3sec on the clock.

“We’d never lost three in a row until earlier in the play-offs. We’ve never lost four in a row,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said.

“The guys responded. Fun team to coach because they always believe they can win no matter what.”

Minnesota had been outscored 10-3, 6-0 and 14-3, respectively, at the end of the first three games en route to three-, one- and nine-point losses.

This time, however, they held on to their lead.

Edwards’ personal series-high point total came as part of a near-triple-double. He also found time for a team-high-tying 10 rebounds and a team-best nine assists.

Towns also played a big part. After missing 19 of his 22 three-point attempts in the first three games of the series, he buried four of five before fouling out with 25 points.

“I just wanted to go out and be aggressive, shoot my shot and be confident with every shot I shoot,” Towns said.

Rudy Gobert equalled Edwards’ 10 rebounds while completing a double-double with 13 points for Minnesota, while Mike Conley had 14 points and Jaden McDaniels chipped in 10.

For Dallas, Kyrie Irving was held to 16 points on six-for-18 shooting from the field, while Jaden Hardy had 13 points. Daniel Gafford supplied 12 to complement eight rebounds and three blocks and P.J. Washington added 10 points.

“They won one game,” Doncic added.

“It was close in the end but we couldn’t finish. So they won and now we just have to focus on the next one.” REUTERS, AFP