By CNN
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Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving led the Dallas Mavericks to a 108-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday.
Despite starting slowly, Dončić rallied late on with 15 points in the fourth quarter to top-score in the game with 33 points and help his side to an impressive road victory against the NBA’s No. 1 ranked defense.
With Dončić struggling early on, Irving carried the offensive load for Dallas, scoring 24 of his 30 points in the first half.
Wednesday’s victory continues the Mavericks’ impressive form in the postseason, having beaten the Western Conference’s No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the previous round.
“We’ve had quite a few tests in these last two series and we’ve proven to ourselves how to respond to losses,” Irving said afterwards. “This is the first series where we’ve been able to start off with a win.
“Now we got to learn how to deal with this, too. We can’t be satisfied. The job is not even near finished.”
Dončić has delt with a series of injuries during the playoffs but has still managed to find a way to have an impact offensively.
The Slovenian was hounded by the Timberwolves’ physical defensive players, particularly Jaden McDaniels, who top scored for his team with 24 points.
With Dončić acting more as a facilitator early on, it was left to the Dallas’ other superstar guard, Irving, to pick apart the Minnesota defense with some mazy dribbles and finishes at the rim.
After the halftime break and with the game on a knife edge, Dončić began to find his range. His fourth quarter explosion predominately came from close to the basket, with his three-point shot not falling regularly all night.
“We had to work really hard to get this one,” Dončić said. “It’s big time. We know how tough it is to play in this place, especially against a team that has so many weapons, so it’s big-time to take this one. But it’s only one. We got three more to go.”
It’s the first time under head coach Jason Kidd that the Mavericks have won a Game 1 of any playoff series. They have come back to win four of the previous five series under Kidd.
Minnesota’s star talent, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, struggled offensively throughout, finishing with 19 and 16 points respectively.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is on Friday at Target Center in Minnesota.
