MINNEAPOLIS – For the third time in the Mavericks’ 44-year history, they are headed to the NBA Finals.
And for the first time, Luka Dončić will be showcasing his massive skills on basketball’s biggest stage.
Judging by Thursday night, he’s more than ready.
The Mavericks made quick work of the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, thanks to their superstar guards, Dončić and Kyrie Irving.
Dončić outscored Minnesota in the first quarter by himself, the Mavericks went up by 23 points early in the second quarter and cruised to a 124-103 crushing of the Wolves at a Target Center that was silenced early and booed the home team periodically.
The Mavericks closed out the West finals four games to one. They now are 12-5 in the playoffs. And after four tight games to start the series, Thursday’s was a blowout almost before it started.
“He was definitely Luka Magic mode,” coach Jason Kidd said. “He set the tone and made it easier for everybody else. And everybody else stepped up.”
It was eerily similar to Game 7 in Phoenix in the 2022 second-round series when Luka outscored the Suns in the first half as the Mavericks reached the Western Conference finals.
“This one was very close to that where he took the crowd out of the game right off the bat,” Kidd said. “He let his teammates know that it’s time that we have to take it up a notch. He sent the invites out and they all came. He was ready to go. As a leader, that’s what you need on the road against a very talented team to let them know that it’s going to be hard tonight and he definitely did that.”
Dončić piled up 20 first-quarter points, then handed the baton to Irving, who had 15 second-quarter points. By the 7:54 mark of the third quarter, the Mavericks’ lead had grown to cosmic proportions, 82-46.
The rest was just for show as Snoop Dogg was sitting in a courtside seat and could only shake his head.
And Dončić overwhelmed the Wolves while his father got to the game, despite a seven-hour travel delay.
“Set the tone. That’s about it,” Dončić said of his attitude at the start of the game.
And doing it on the road made things even better.
“Way sweeter, just because you know the crowd’s going to be there and when you score, it gets a little quieter,” he said. “That’s why it’s sweeter.
“It’s a good feeling, man. I can’t lie. It’s us against them. Just stay together. But that feeling’s great.”
And so, the Mavericks are back in the Finals. And for the first time, their opponent won’t be the Miami Heat.
The Mavericks and Boston Celtics will begin the NBA Finals Thursday at TD Garden. Both teams will have plenty of rest to gear up for what should be a fascinating series. The Celtics will be going for their 18th NBA title, the Mavericks their second.
Luka will be joined in the Finals by Irving, who will be making his fourth NBA Finals appearance, but first since 2017, as the league’s newest, coolest set of superstar teammates takes a spot in the white-hot spotlight.
They will be hard-pressed to get any hotter than they were Thursday. Dončić had 36 points and played only briefly in the fourth quarter. Irving also had 36 points as the pair seemed to flash championship credentials in the clincher.
They took turns chopping up the Wolves’ vaunted defense. And when it was over, they could hug and celebrate getting to the NBA Finals.
And bask in the fact that their union, which was questioned by everybody a year ago when the Mavericks missed the playoffs, has been an unqualified success.
“It doesn’t happen a lot of times . . . go from the lottery to the Finals,” Kidd said. “But we truly believed we had the pieces. Sometimes you take a step back to view what you have, to be able to get D-Live in that process. And to be able to sign free agents, (Dante) Exum and (Derrick) Jones and add the pieces of (Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington via trades).
“It’s put us in position to be competitive with the best teams in the league. Now does that mean we win every night? No. But we come back to work the next day to get better and look at the mistakes we made. And that group is tight-knit and they truly believe they can win if given the opportunity.”
Now they are in the Finals after not having the home-court advantage in any of the first three rounds of the playoffs.
The power of Luka is the No. 1 reason.
Dončić becomes the second face of the franchise to reach the Finals. It took Dirk Nowitzki eight seasons before he got to the Finals, where the Mavericks lost to the Heat in six games.
Five years later, in 2011, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to their only championship, also in six games and also against the Heat.
Now, in his sixth season, it is Dončić’s turn.
His first quarter was nothing short of a clinic. With the game tied at 18, the Mavericks went on a 22-1 blitz in the final five-plus minutes of the quarter, which bled into the second stanza.
For Luka, it was the second 20-point quarter he’s had in the playoffs (fourth quarter against Golden State in 2022). He hit 8-of-10 shots in the quarter, 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. He simply destroyed the Minnesota defense.
It was to be expected, really. Dončić seems to always be sensational, but he’s been particularly strong after losses in the playoffs.
His scoring average isn’t that much different than his playoff scoring as a whole – 31.8 points after the Mavericks’ first four losses in these playoffs. His average overall: 28.3 points.
But his shooting has been far better in games after a loss (50.5 percent) than overall (42.6 percent). And he’s shot 17-of-41 on threes in the four wins after a loss (41.5 percent). In all playoff games, he’s hitting 32.7 percent.
The Mavericks went up 46-23 early in the second quarter and the Wolves were having trouble getting clean looks at the basket.
X: @ESefko
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