MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards poked the bear, and the bear got the last laugh.
Right after Minnesota rallied from a 20-point deficit in the third quarter to upset the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals this past Sunday, Edwards boldly shouted that he was going to defend Dallas guard Kyrie Irving in the conference finals. Well, that assignment didn’t go too well for Edwards on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals when the Timberwolves hosted the Mavs at the Target Center.
Irving, of course, heard the noise coming from Edwards. His response?
Irving finished the game with 30 points on 12-of-23 shots, and also collected five rebounds and handed out four assists as the Mavs prevailed, 108-105.
“Right after the game (against Denver) it was funny, because (Edwards) said it right then and there,” Irving said. “And I think the whole world was looking like, ‘OK, you better know what you’re talking about, Ant,’ and I respect that.
“That no-fear mentality that he has is why I love him as a competitor and why I love him as a person.”
And after Wednesday, Irving may love it even more if Edwards just keeps on talking about wanting to defend him.
Normally a slow starter in games when it comes to scoring, Irving didn’t waste any time letting Edwards know he was going to be in for a long night. In the first quarter Irving poured in 13 points on 6-of-9 shots after scoring no more than four points in the first quarter in any of the Mavs’ previous 12 games during these playoffs.
But Irving was just getting started, as he tacked on another 11 points in the second quarter while converting all five of his field goal attempts.
“He was being Kai, just picking his spots and using different places on the floor to attack,” coach Jason Kidd said. “I thought he did a great job of helping everybody relax on the offensive end, and then I thought defensively he was leading.
“I thought Kai was big for us in that first half and got us off to a good start when we were only down three and we just felt like we didn’t play well.”
Perhaps Edwards’ words were what motivated Irving, who normally gets the lion’s share of his points in the fourth quarter.
“We just had to start off the game with an aggressiveness and make sure we bring (Minnesota center) Rudy (Gobert) away from the basket as much as possible,” Irving said. “We understand that’s the Defensive Player of the Year and they’ve got first-team (and) second -team all-defensive
guys.
“As much as we can attack them in transition before they set their defense (is good) — which I got a few opportunities to do, So, I was feeling good in that first quarter and just settling where we are in this Western Conference Finals.”
This is the first conference finals for Irving since 2017 when he was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. So, he knows of the pressures that comes with a game of this stature.
“(There’s) a lot of anxiety (and) some nerves,” he said. “I’ve been here before. (There’s) a little bit more poise on my end just being able to start the game with confidence, and that aggression.”
That poise and aggression by Irving enabled the Mavs to only be down, 62-59, at halftime.
“We probably would have been down 20 if he didn’t score that many points,” guard Luka Dončić said, referring to Irving’s 24-point first half. “So, I appreciate him keeping us in the game.”
Ironically, this time it was Dončić who was the more aggressive player in the fourth quarter when he scored 15 of his game-high 33 points after tallying just 18 points through the first three quarters. Dončić and Irving, in fact, combined to score or assist on 88 of the Mavs’ points.
“I felt like Luka stayed positive,” Irving said. “At times when he reacted to the turnovers or passes that didn’t convert to baskets for us, I was just reminding him just to keep his head up and realize where we are and the magnitude. There’s a lot of guys who look to him for emotional stability and emotional strength.”
Irving, meanwhile, agreed with Kidd in that this was not a very efficient game by the Mavs, who won Game 1 of a playoff series for the first time in the
Dončić era.
“We didn’t play our best game,” said Irving, who was a ruthless attacker and scored 18 points in the paint. “We had moments throughout the game where we looked a little lackadaisical energy-wise in terms of our rotations, and they got out in transition and they got some big threes that we wanted to take away from them.”
Through it all, though, the motivation Irving got from Edwards’ bold statements a few days earlier worked in his favor.
“As a peer, man, I love that,” Irving said. “It’s nothing better. When Ant was a little bit younger I’m sure he was watching me. When he was in high school, I was watching him.
“So, for me it’s one of those exciting matches that I look forward to. When we’re on that court I know he’s going to give it his all and I’m going to give it my all, and at the end of the game it’s all love. When we’re in between those lines he knows what it is and I know what it is.”
LUKA NAMED FIRST-TEAM ALL-NBA: Mavs point guard Luka Dončić is eligible for the supermax extension after he was voted Wednesday to 
the All-NBA first team.
Dončić finished the regular season first in the NBA in scoring (33.9), second in assists (9.8), second in three-pointers made per game (4.1), tied for seventh in steals (1.4), and he also was first among all guards in rebounds (9.2). Joining Dončić on the All-NBA first team were Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“We know he’s one of the best scorers of all time,” Mavs guard Kyrie Irving said after Dončić tallied a game-high 33 points on Wednesday. “He’s proven it. When he’s going out there and not necessarily playing well offensively in the first half, I know in the second half he’s going to be aggressive and I think we’ve been able to figure out that 1-2 punch of just playing that point guard role or that main scorer’s role and just not lacking in other areas in the basketball game.
“He can do other things and I can do other things other than score. When it’s his time to score it’s my time to play defense and get up in my guy and contest shots and continue to do the little things that get us wins.”
Because he was an all-NBA selection, Dončić could be eligible for a five-year approximately $346 million extension in the summer of 2025 that will pay him nearly $60 million for the 2026-27 season and almost $79 million for the 2030-31 campaign. Dončić joins Tim Duncan and Kevin Durant as the only players voted first-team All-NBA five times before they turn 26 years old.
X: @DwainPrice
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