At the end of the suspense, Dallas ended up defeating the Wolves! To celebrate the return of Luka Doncic, Jason Kidd's troops delivered a full match on both sides. It was necessary at least that to try to falter a rather very well-oiled machine around the Edwards-Towns-Gobert trio.
Already in the first half, the Mavs had to work to compete with the leader of the Western Conference led by an aggressive Anthony Edwards from the start. The Doncic-Irving pair quickly had to showcase their talent to stay in the game and also respond to the slaughter of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, with the help in particular of Derrick Jones Jr to spectacularly counter the French pivot from behind.
Karl-Anthony Towns keeps the suspense alive
Despite all that, Minnesota held on, and was only -4 at halftime, concluded by a new show from the Doncic-Irving pair, with the pass to make Grant Williams shine in particular, or with the finish ( 60-56). But as that was not enough to make a gap, the “LuKy” duo raised their level of play, notably with an incredible series of 3-point baskets in which Tim Hardaway Jr ended up joining in. In addition to seeing Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving multiply their exploits, Dallas also made the difference with the impermeability of its defense. No one balked at the image of the last sequence to end the third quarter, with an Irving-Doncic duo on the ground to snatch the ball! The effort of Jason Kidd's entire group was rewarded as Dallas was finally +9 (91-82).
But more was needed to overthrow these Wolves! As soon as the Mavs eased off a little in defense, Minnesota took the opportunity to regain control, relying on an imperturbable Anthony Edwards but also a “clutch” Karl-Anthony Towns with three decisive baskets including two 3- points and a 2+1 to fuel an 11-0 which completely changed the situation at the start of “money time” (100-106).
With their backs to the wall, Dallas then relied on a 2+1 from Dwight Powell and two 3-point exploits from Kyrie Irving, at the head of the racket then from the corner to bring the score to 109-106. After a lost ball from Rudy Gobert and a missed 3-pointer from KAT, it was finally Derrick Jones Jr who delivered his side by making his way towards the circle to finish with a powerful dunk (111-106). This time, the Mavs held on to their success, and fans were able to chant “MVP,MVP” when Luka Doncic stepped up to the free throw line to secure the victory, 115-108.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The heart of the Doncic-Irving pair. Sometimes criticized, the tandem showed itself in its best light last night for the reception of the leader in the West. Difficult to say who shone the most between Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but what is certain is that both delighted the gallery, in the scoring, their passing game and the expression of their Basketball IQ. However, we will remember the two “hyper-clutch” baskets from Kyrie Irving at 3-points in the money-time to reverse a very poorly started situation.
– The Revenge of Derrick Jones Jr. Derrick Jones Jr would have bitten his fingers when he missed his open 3-point attempt while the score was 109-106 with 53 seconds remaining, aware that he had just missed a first shot from match. During the timeout requested by Minnesota immediately, the winger seemed to really blame himself, even if he received encouragement from many of his teammates. Finally, Karl-Anthony Towns in turn missed his shot to equalize, it was he who flew to get the rebound and validate his second career double-double. And who did Luka Doncic find in traffic to finish the job behind? Derrick Jones Jr. This time, number 55 stayed in what he does best with a big dunk, to secure the victory this time. Morality? Never let go !
