Mavs want Timberwolves to keep raining threes

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves attempted a franchise playoff record 49 three-pointers on Wednesday against the Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. It wouldn’t bother the Mavs one bit if the T-Wolves employed that same strategy again in Game 2 of this best-of-seven series.

The run of threes worked fine for the Timberwolves in the first half of Game 1 when they were 11-of-25 from the field and led, 62-59. But in the second half, the Mavs’ defense stiffened and the shots from downtown betrayed the Timberwolves when they were just 7-of-24, and only scored 43 points and wound up losing to the Mavs, 108-105.

Mavs center Daniel Gafford said they want to persuade the Timberwolves to again rely on their three-pointers by “really just sticking to the same principles and really just staying poised defensively. (We’re going to) not be rattled when guys are knocking down threes.

“At the end of the day it’s basketball. It’s a lot of stuff that’s going to happen down the stretch that nine times out of 10 that we’re not prepared for. It’s just all about how we adjust and react to it.”

Armed with their solid defensive packages, the Mavs almost denied the Timberwolves entry into the paint. They cut off driving lanes, thus forcing Minnesota into attempting more three-point baskets (49) than two-pointers (40).

Jaden McDaniels (6-of-9 on three-pointers) led Minnesota with 24 points. However, Anthony Edwards was heled to 19 points on 6-of-16 shots, and Karl-Anthony Towns scored just 16 points on 6-of-20 shots and was only 2-of-9 from downtown.

“They shot a lot of threes,’ coach Jason Kidd said. “They were hot early.

“It’s tough when you’ve got KAT and those guys who can put it on the floor and get to the rim. Again, we believe that Ant’s going to come, and (point guard Mike) Conley’s going to come, and that they’re going to be better in game 2, so we have to be ready.”

Mavs forward P.J. Washington agreed.

“I feel like we did a great job of protecting the paint, but I do think we’ve got to do a better job of taking some of those threes away,” he said. “I think the main thing is the thee-pointers that they made.

“Obviously, they made 18 of them. We can’t afford for them to keep doing that.”

In the meantime, the Mavs rode the hot hand of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving all the way to the winner’s circle in Game 1. Doncic tallied 15 of his game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, and Irving set the tone by scoring 13 of his 30 points in the first quarter.

Irving was partly motivated to get off to a blazing start after Edwards gleefully said – following Minnesota’s elimination of Denver in seven games this past Sunday – he was going to guard Irving. In the first two rounds of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder, Irving scored a total of just 19 points in the first quarters of those 12 games. But that drastically changed in Game 1 of this series.

Gafford said he wasn’t surprised Edwards would make such a bold statement at this juncture of the playoffs.

“That’s Ant,” Gafford said. “That’s his personality. That’s his persona. He comes out and he wants to guard one of the best players on the floor.

“I give him his props. It’s not every day that you see a young guy able to just be out here saying I’m guarding Kyrie with the same stuff that he does offensively. So, I give him his props.”

Normally, Doncic scores the bulk of the Mavs’ points in the first quarter and Irving gets the bulk of their points in the fourth quarter. But the roles organically reversed in Game 1, thanks in large part to Irving reacting to Edwards’ comments.

“It’s hard to stop (Doncic and Irving), at the end of the day, especially once they get going,” Gafford said. “In all honesty, you have to really just pray, I would say.

“I’m always amazed just seeing some of the stuff that goes on (on) a day-to-day basis when it comes to what they do throughout each game. We just make sure that we get those guys the ball, and then at the end of the day when they get the ball in our hands that they trust us to be able to make plays and make decisions.”

Here are some other nuggets surrounding Game 2 between the Mavs and Timberwolves.

*If the Mavs emerge victorious in Game 2 and go up 2-0 in this best-of-seven series, they’ll have a great chance of advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since they won the championship in 2011. NBA teams that build a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series go on to win that series a whopping 92.5 percent of the time.

*A key play late in Game 2 occurred when Mavs guard Luka Doncic skied high to block a lob pass form guard Mike Conley that was intended for center Rudy Gobert. “Sometimes he surprises me when it comes to some of his athletic abilities,” center Daniel Gafford said. “But I knew for a fact that he was going to get that one.”

*The Timberwolves swept their first-round playoff series against Phoenix, then won the first two games – on the road – in the Western Conference semifinals against Denver. So, this is the first time they didn’t win the opener of a playoff series this year.

*The Mavs rallied from a nine-point deficit in Game 1 to grab homecourt advantage. “It just shows the resiliency of this team,” center Daniel Gafford said. “It doesn’t matter how much you beat us up, it doesn’t matter how much you throw us down, we’re always going to get back up and we’re going to keep playing.” Now, if the Mavs just win their three home games – if all three is indeed needed — they’ll stamp their ticket to the NBA Finals.

*Wednesday’s victory was the first time the Mavs won Game 1 of a playoff series under coach Jason Kidd. In the previous five playoff series under Kidd the Mavs were 0-5 in Games 1s. But they also bounced back and won four of those five playoff series, losing only to the eventual NBA Champion Golden State Warriors in the 2022 Western Conference Finals.

*In his assessment of Game 2, Mavs center Daniel Gafford said: “It’s going to be physical. It’s going to be a lot of stuff to where it’s going to hurt, but it hurts to be great. You just have to take that and embrace that and take that as a compliment.”

DALLAS MAVERICKS (1-0) at MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (0-1)

When: 7:30 p.m., Friday

Where: Target Center, Minneapolis

TV: TNT

Radio: KEGL 97.1 FM The Eagle; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)

X: @DwainPrice