Luka Doncic And Kyrie Irving Dazzled Again To Put Dallas Up 3-0 On Minnesota

We are now on the precipice of seeing two conference finals sweeps in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, as the Dallas Mavericks joined the Boston Celtics in taking a 3-0 series lead with another incredible late game performance on Sunday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In the first half, the Mavs took control thanks to their star backcourt, as Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic combined for 29 in the first half to lift Dallas to an 8-point halftime lead.

They would suffer a big loss in the second quarter, when their impactful rookie center, Dereck Lively II, left and did not return after being kneed in the back of the head by Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Dallas lead would expand to double digits in the third, but Anthony Edwards finally came to life in the series to lead a Wolves charge to tie it going to the fourth.

The two teams would trade one-possession leads throughout the fourth, but neither could take full control in a tense, back-and-forth affair, and it looked like we might get another frantic finish at the buzzer.

That changed in the final few minutes, as the Mavericks once again turned to their stars and let them carry them home with incredible shot-making performances.

On the other side, the Wolves simply could not match them, as Karl-Anthony Towns’ nightmare series continued with an 0-of-8 night from three-point range, including a pair of misses on clean looks down the stretch that were desperately needed.

The final dagger of the night was put in by Daniel Gafford off a lob from Doncic, as they put Game 3 to bed in style with an unbelievable alley-oop combination.

Doncic and Irving finished with a combined 66 points, with Doncic adding seven boards, five assists, and five steals, as the Mavs stars were simply better than their counterparts from Minnesota for the third straight game. Edwards was more aggressive in Game 3, finishing with 26 points on 11-of-24 shooting with nine assists and nine rebounds. Jaden McDaniels (15 points) and Naz Reid (14 points) were terrific once again, but McDaniels struggled with foul trouble and Reid only played 29 minutes. Towns continues to be a non-factor, but rather than benching him down the stretch like they did in Game 2, he played and missed some key shots, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but going 5-of-18 from the field and missing all eight of his three-point attempts.

While there are always many factors that play a role in a series outcome, in this one it’s fairly simple. One team’s stars have shined and the other team’s have simply not been good enough.

Now the Wolves are one game away from the offseason, and will need to dig deep to find something for Game 4 even as their fate seems etched in stone. The Mavs, meanwhile, will look to close out a sweep on Tuesday night at home to avoid having to make a return trip to Minnesota — and ensure they get an equal rest before the Finals as the Celtics, who are heavy favorites to make it a sweep in the East on Monday night in Indiana.