Doncic, Irving shine, Aussie duo reach NBA Finals with Mavericks

Superstar Luka Doncic erupted early as Dallas humiliated Minnesota, booking two Aussies a trip to the NBA Finals.

The Mavericks and Celtics will face off.

It is official, Australian duo Josh Green and Dante Exum will be playing for an NBA championship after the Dallas Mavericks humiliated Minnesota on their own court.

A Luka Doncic-inspired Mavericks ran away 124-103 winners in Game 5 to seal the Western Conference Finals series 4-1 and book a spot in the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.

It means Kyrie Irving, who had 15 points in the second quarter for Dallas, will come up against his former team and, more specifically, the Boston fanbase in a series that is sure to open up old wounds.

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Doncic, who had 36 points in the win and was later announced as the Western Conference Finals MVP, finished the series averaging 32.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists.

Meanwhile, Irving once again proved himself the dependable co-star the Mavs hoped he would be when they traded for him, scoring 36 points in Game 5 and averaging 27 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists in the series.

Meanwhile, for Minnesota, Friday’s loss was a jarring end to a playoffs run that promised so much after an Anthony Edwards-inspired Timberwolves eliminated the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semi-finals.

Former NBA head coach and current TNT broadcaster Stan Van Gundy described it as an “embarrassing” result for Minnesota, who lost all three home games during the series.

“A great win in Game 4 and then you come home again and lay an egg,” he said in commentary.

Overall though, while a disappointing ending, the season as a whole was certainly a step in the right direction for Minnesota as Edwards announced himself as an ascending NBA superstar.

Doncic alone outscored Minnesota in the first quarter, putting up 20 points as the Mavericks jumped out to a 35-19 lead heading into the second.

That was despite the game being tied up at 18-18 halfway through the opening period, with Dallas ending the quarter on a 17-1 run as the Timberwolves struggled to get anything going.

Minnesota shot just 31 per cent from the field in the quarter compared to 61 per cent for Dallas, with Rudy Gobert (seven points) leading the Timberwolves for shot attempts in the first.

Kyrie Irving will return to Boston. Brian Fluharty/Getty Images/AFP

It was the dream start for Dallas, although the challenge entering the second was to maintain the same level of intensity as Doncic got a well-earned rest to open the quarter.

With that in mind, it was Irving’s turn to take over as the Mavericks guard scored six points to go with an assist in the opening three minutes of the quarter before Doncic checked back in.

Dallas was up 46-23 at that point, with Green and Exum both on the court early in the second for the Mavs and finding different ways to make an impact.

Green, who had a pair of steals and set up P.J. Washington with a perfect bounce pass in the first quarter, made a driving layup while generally playing with his trademark energy on both ends.

Josh Green is playing like an absolute mad man.

— Kirk Henderson (@KirkSeriousFace) May 31, 2024

the Josh Green minutes have been elite

— All Things Mavs (@All_Things_Mavs) May 31, 2024

Josh Green sets up PJ with a DIME 🔥 pic.twitter.com/vPFhCvFAoa

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 31, 2024

Exum, meanwhile, at one point hustled for a crucial defensive rebound, although there was little he could do when Edwards made him touch earth on a stepback three.

The Mavericks had been consistently blitzing Edwards pick-and-rolls all game trying to make life hard for the Timberwolves guard and were largely having success with that strategy.

Still, that Edwards 3-pointer only cut the Dallas lead to 46-26 with 8:43 left in the second.

The Timberwolves had a number of opportunities to make it a manageable deficit at halftime but just couldn’t consistently make shots when they needed to.

And on two specific occasions, the Mavericks responded with clutch shots of their own on the other end to really make it sting.

First, Edwards missed a three-pointer which would have had the Timberwolves only trailing 49-35 midway through the second quarter, with Derrick Jones Jr. making a triple on the next possession.

ANTHONY EDWARDS DROPS DANTE EXUM.

pic.twitter.com/NQR4x4sPt2

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 31, 2024

A few minutes later, Minnesota had a chance to cut the difference to 53-39 but Naz Reid couldn’t make the three as Washington then drilled one from deep to push the buffer out to 20.

It didn’t get any better before halftime for the Timberwolves as the Mavericks pushed their lead out to 69-40 off the back of a 17-4 run to close out the quarter.

Irving had 15 points in the quarter while Doncic made a few clutch shots to end the half on 25.

Any hope of an early response from Minnesota in the third was quickly put to bed by Dallas as the Mavericks opened the period on a 6-2 run to take the biggest lead of the game.

Minnesota won the third quarter 33-28 but still trailed 97-73, with just 12 minutes to erase a 24-point deficit and save its season.

In the end, the Timberwolves never really got close to threatening a comeback as the Mavericks booked a date with the Celtics in the NBA Finals.

NBA FINALS SCHEDULE (Times AEST)

Game 1: Friday, June 7, 10.30am in Boston

Game 2: Monday, June 10, 10am in Boston

Game 3: Thursday, June 13, 10.30am in Dallas

Game 4: Saturday, June 15, 9am in Dallas

Game 5 (If necessary): Tuesday, June 18, 10.30am in Boston

Game 6 (If necessary): Friday, June 21, 10.30am in Dallas

Game 7 (If necessary): Monday, June 24, 10am in Boston

Originally published as Doncic, Irving shine, Aussie duo reach NBA Finals with Mavericks