The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night in Dallas, losing 105-100. The loss means the series will go on for at least one more game. Game 5 will be Thursday night in Minnesota.
The first quarter started out clunky, like most elimination games. The Wolves were fighting for their season, and the Mavericks desperately wanted to avoid going back to Minnesota. Luka Doncic, however, came out firing scoring eight of the Mavericks’ 10 points in the first six minutes of the quarter. The decimated Dallas front court took its toll—with Dereck Lively II out and Maxi Kleber limited in his comeback, Daniel Gafford and Dwight Powell were left to protect the rim. The Wolves took advantage, outscoring the Mavericks 14-2 in the paint. The Wolves defense was stifling as well, holding the Mavericks to zero field goals made for more than four minutes late in the first. Still, Doncic and company grinded away and only trailed 27-20 by the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Wolves continued to look like a team fighting for its life. The Mavericks didn’t look lifeless or disinterested, but just couldn’t match the intensity of Minnesota. They were late to loose balls and rebounds, and had some defensive lapses. But as the quarter wore on, Dallas started to find its rhythm. The Wolves’ defense started to slip, and they committed bad foul after bad foul. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards finished the first half with three fouls each. But it was really turnovers that kept the Mavericks in the game. They scored 20 points off of nine Minnesota turnovers. Dallas had seven of their own, but the Wolves weren’t able to capitalize, scoring only seven points off of those Dallas blunders. The Mavericks closed the second quarter on a 15-7 run and teams went into halftime tied at 49.
The game continued on much the same in the third quarter. The Mavericks were able to take a slight lead a time or two, but mostly the Wolves kept just ahead of them, their lead around three to five points most of the quarter. Doncic and Irving were oddly passive to start the second half, combining for only eight points on six shots. Doncic did have three assists, though. Instead, the Mavericks were unexpectedly buoyed by Gafford and Jaden Hardy, who put up a combined 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
Neither team could gain an advantage in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks would close on the Wolves, or take a small lead, then Minnesota would go on a short run and push their lead to six or so. Towns carried them in the final quarter, hitting three 3-pointers in the fourth, and scoring 10 points. Meanwhile, Irving was up and down, scoring four points early, but only two the rest of the quarter. A huge swing came with 1:38 left in the game, as Doncic pump faked Towns into committing his sixth foul and drawing three free throws.
After a stop on the defensive end, a P.J. Washington 3-point attempt ended up bouncing into Irving’s arms, and he hit a midrange two to cut the lead to 100-97. Anthony Edwards then hit a tough jumper just inside the arc to put the Wolves up 102-97. Irving continued his erratic play and threw the ball away on the Mavericks’ next possession, which led to a Wolves fast break. Mike Conley drew a blocking foul and hit one of two free throws, putting Minnesota up 103-97. Off the Conley missed free throw, Doncic was able to hit a deep 3-pointer and draw a foul, but failed to convert from the charity stripe, making the score 103-100 Wolves. A Naz Reid made two on the other end with 11 seconds left sealed the game, and Minnesota staved off the end of their season for one more game.
The Mavericks hit their free throws
Dallas has struggled with their free throws all year, the last two weeks of this playoff run, they’ve suddenly found their stroke at the charity stripe. The Mavericks shot 18-of-21 from the line tonight, 85 percent. Minnesota only hit 68 percent of their 25 free throw attempts. Yes, Doncic missed that free throw late that could have been a four-point play, but it bodes well for the rest of this series that Dallas is hitting from the line.
Irving needs more focus
Beyond the fact that Doncic just needs another scorer, Irving being aggressive changes things for the Mavericks. The floor opens up more when defenses are on edge because both Doncic and Irving are going supernova. Too often in this game Irving retreated to the 3-point line and became a spectator. Dallas doesn’t need another spot up shooter. They need someone who can score off tough shots and create offense so that the Minnesota defense can’t key in solely on Doncic. Part of this is on the coaching staff. They’ve got to scheme up ways to get Irving involved, like having him screen for Doncic or the reverse. But Irving is a superstar and needs to force his will on the game, especially when the offense is struggling.
Navigate some screens
I’m going to pick on Josh Green because he’s the worst offender, but he’s not the only culprit here. Green is athletic and active on defense, but a good screen is his downfall. He just dies on screens, and some games it feels contagious. The Wolves aren’t the most offensively gifted team, so giving them good shots by failing to fight through screens isn’t a good game plan. Jason Kidd should just show a highlight loop of every Mavericks player getting hung up on a screen and challenge them to be more aggressive, more shifty, and just plain better when navigating the Wolves’ screens. These games are coming down to just a few possessions, and that makes these marginal things matter so much more.
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