June 6, the Dallas Mavericks have a date with the Boston Celtics.
The Mavericks, rebounding from a Game 5 defeat, dominated the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center in the 124-103 win.
For the Mavericks, Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic were spectacular, combining for 72 points (36 apiece). The combined total was one off of the franchise record of 73 combined points from two players, with was achieved by Doncic and Jalen Brunson in 2022 and Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard in 2006.
The Mavericks dominated the contest from start to finish, a very impressive road win to clinch a Finals’ appearance. The Timberwolves got 28 points each from Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, but a lot of the points were when the game was already decided. Edwards had 9 rebounds and 6 assists while going 10-for-18 from the field, and Towns was 9-for-20. The Timberwolves received virtually nothing from Naz Reid and Kyle Anderson, both of whom combined to go 5-for-19. Rudy Gobert had just five rebounds.
The Mavericks shot an efficient 54.2 percent to the Timberwolves’ 41 percent, and made 15 three-pointers to the Timberwolves’ nine. The Mavericks also had a 45-39 rebounding advantage. Daniel Gafford, with 11 points and 9 rebounds, and Dereck Lively II, with 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks, continued to assert themselves inside, an advantage that they saw to all series long, one which they were not thought to have going into the series.
The impressive five-game series victory for the Mavericks clinches their second Finals appearance, their last coming in 2011, which was a 4-2 win over the Miami Heat. This time, they will face the Boston Celtics, a 64-win team that ran through the Eastern Conference all season. The Mavericks, the fifth-seed with 50 wins, are an unexpected Finals’ participant.
It all unfolds beginning June 6 in Boston, M.A. from TD Garden.
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