The Dallas Mavericks are headed to the championship game after a 33-point performance from the one-two punch of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Dallas defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-107 in Game 3 of the 2023-2024 National Basketball Association (NBA) Western Conference Finals (best-of-seven) on Sunday at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, USA.
After winning three straight games, Dallas needs just one more win in Games 4-7 to advance to the championship game. In the best-of-seven NBA playoffs, 먹튀검증 there has never been a team to win the first three games and then lose four straight.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers in three games, so it’s likely that this year’s championship matchup will be between Boston and Dallas. The last time Dallas made it to the championship game was in 2010-2011, when Dirk Nowitzki led them to the title.
After finishing fifth in the Western Conference in the regular season, the Mavs swept the No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers and No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs and came within a win of defeating No. 3 Minnesota. Game 4 between the two teams will be played at the same venue on Nov. 29.
Like Games 1 and 2, the game came down to the wire, with Dallas’ P.J. Washington hitting a three-pointer with 3:38 left in regulation and Minnesota’s Nazr Reed missing 1 of 2 free throws to give Dallas the lead for good with 104-104.
Dallas cut the deficit to four when Doncic hit a three-pointer with 2:16 left in regulation, but Minnesota continued to miss free throw attempts by Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns. Eventually, Dallas took the lead for good when Irving hit a three-pointer to make it a six-point game with 1:07 left in regulation.
Irving and Doncic combined for 33 points in the win. Dallas was a fearsome shooter on the night, knocking down 28 three-pointers, including 14 in the first half. Minnesota was led by Edwards’ near triple-double with 26 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists.
