Timberwolves stay alive in enemy territory
Western CONFERENCE Finals Game 4 Recap
“I’ve never been swept, so I took it personally,” the young star for Minnesota, Anthony Edwards said.
In the face of elimination, Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves forced a game five after playing near-perfect basketball in the fourth quarter to beat the Dallas Mavericks 105-100.
The Mavericks backcourt duo, Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, could not get their team over the hump down the stretch. Both Irving and Doncic amassed several turnovers and made all the wrong decisions when it mattered the most in the fourth quarter. Irving ended the night with 16 points, 4 assists, and 4 turnovers while shooting 33% from the field and 16% from three. Ending with a triple-double, Doncic scored 28 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and dished out 10 assists while shooting 33% from the field and 36% from three. As for the role players, Daniel Gafford played tremendous defense ending the night with a game-high 3 blocks and 16 points. Jaden Hardy came off the bench and scored 13 points in 12 minutes, but the rest of the supporting cast failed to show up.
On the other hand, the one-two punch of Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony Towns both played great. Edwards was an assist shy of a triple-double, ending with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists but turned the ball over 6 times and picked up 5 fouls. Despite having a poor series heading into this game-Towns stepped up, scoring 25 points, but fouled out late into the fourth quarter on a controversial call. Although he played questionable defense, Rudy Gobert played well scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Every single player on the Timberwolves that checked into the game played well, with notable performances from Mike Conley, who scored 14 crucial points, and Jaden McDaniels who played great defense on the Dallas guards while also getting himself 10 points.
Dallas started the game off with possession, and after a high screen from Derrick Jones Jr. on the left side of the court, Kyrie Irving slipped away from Jaden McDaniels, stopped just outside the restricted area, and finished with his patented right-hand floater. On the subsequent play, McDaniels responded with a shot of his own after hitting Daniel Gafford with a smooth cross for an easy mid-range jumpshot. On the subsequent play, Luka threw a risky outlet pass to Gafford, but he couldn’t keep possession of the ball as Conley swept in for the steal. Bringing the ball up the court, Conley passed the ball off to Karl Anthony Towns who charged into the paint with a full head of steam and finished a tough shot off the glass over Gafford.
With over 2 minutes into the game, Luka Doncic used some of his signature magic to hit a deep three over Conley after using a variety of jab steps to gain some separation. A few possessions later, Anthony Edwards pushed the ball up the court in transition and forced his way to the rim, finishing over Doncic and Irving by applying a little English to the ball as it spun off the glass into the rim.
To tie the game 10 a piece, Doncic used his size to get separation on Edwards, draining a step-back three. After Conley picked off a steal from Dwight Powell, Conley took the ball the length of the court and hit a cutting Rudy Gobert who used a euro-step to finish the transition play.
After spinning around his right shoulder in the post, Gobert hit a dime to a cutting Towns who slipped away from his defender's gaze and found himself uncontested at the rim. Guarded by Dallas forward P.J. Washington, Edwards faked the drive, snatched the ball back, and sank the open three-point shot as Gobert screened Washington on the closeout. Using a screen, Edwards drove down the right lane and found himself wide open for the mid-range shot at the elbow to give them a 12-point lead 24-12. After breaking free from Anderson, Irving drew in the help defense and kicked it out to a wide-open Jaden Hardy who hit an open three to end Minnesota’s offensive run.
To start the second quarter, after a missed shot Kyle Anderson grabbed an offensive rebound and dished it to the open Mike Conley who hit a three to make it 30-20. Breaking free again from Anderson, Irving infiltrated the paint and hit a high-arching left-handed floater over Rudy Gobert. Dante Exum scored his first point of the series for Dallas after saving a dismantled play by hitting an awkward left-handed shot. Off an Irving assist, Exum hit a wide-open three to give the Mavericks momentum. After two made free throws by Washington, Conley used a screen to get an open drive to the paint, and poor help defense by Exum gave him an easy layup to end the 9-0 run by Dallas.
Using a hard screen from Gobert at the top of the key, Daniel Gafford switched on to Edwards but sagged off, giving him a wide-open three making the score 35-29. Despite being one of the older players in the league, Conley blew by his defender and scooped the ball high off the glass over two defenders.
Backing his way deep into the post, Doncic turned a shot fake into a pass after Conley came over to help, leaving Jones wide open in the left corner. Jones hit this shot, and then off a cross-court bullet pass from Doncic that ripped by several defenders, Jones hit another three to tie up the game and blew a kiss to the Dallas crowd. Several plays later, Irving used a screen high up on the left wing, slithered by his defender getting deep into the paint, and threw a lob up to the heavens which Gafford punched down, causing the home crowd to erupt.
Getting an off-ball screen from Gobert, Towns had a step over his defender and finished over Gafford to give the Timberwolves the lead to start the third quarter. Using a hard screen from Gafford, Doncic slowly crept his way into the paint and hit a heavily contested teardrop shot.
While on the left wing, Doncic faked out the entire Timberwolves’ defense and was rewarded with a completely wide-open layup to give Dallas a three-point lead 59-56. A couple of plays later, Irving rejected the screen to his right, which his defender thought he was going to use, crossed over to his left, and sank a deep dribble-pull-up three.
Catching the ball on the elbow, Towns drove to the low post and flipped up a shot over his defender while drawing a foul. After a few defensive stops Towns used an off-ball screen to get a wide-open three on the left wing, making his first attempt of the game.
Pushing his way deep into the paint, Doncic caused the defense to collapse leaving P.J. Washington wide open in the corner and off a pretty pass, Washington nailed the shot to tie the game with 4:37 left in the third. On the very next play, Naz Reid, who had been quiet all game, drove left on the tailing Washington and made his way to the rim, finishing on the right side over Gafford, and drawing a foul. On the next play, Kyle Anderson swatted away a Jaden Hardy floater, and Edwards charged downhill and dunked the ball, beating everyone to the other side. With just under two minutes left in the third, Hardy danced his way into the paint and finished with the two-handed slam over Anderson to make it a two-point game 73-71. On the next play, Edwards found himself deep in the paint, causing the defense to collapse, causing Nickeil Alexander-Walker to be wide open, and off a jump pass from Edwards he drilled the open three to put the team up five. Using his size and a variety of moves, Hardy drove down the right lane, smoothly rolled the ball off his fingers, and used the glass for the easy layup over Edwards with a few seconds on the clock. To match his shot, Edwards dribbled down the court and hit a contested mid-range jumper over Maxi Kleber to end the quarter.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves found themselves in trouble as many of their stars had four or more fouls. A cautionary decision was made by Minnesota to play Karl Anthony-Towns only when needed, as he was a foul away from being eliminated. Regardless, the Timberwolves held their own to start the new quarter without their big man. Hitting a rolling Gobert. Mike Conley picked up an assist after Gobert finished the wide-open layup off the textbook play.
Off one of the many Edwards turnovers, Doncic led the way in transition and threw a lob to the rafters, and Derrick Jones Jr. slammed it with two hands to finish the highlight play. Off an outlet pass from Doncic, Irving drove to the basket, used a wide euro-step, and finished the left-handed floater over two defenders.
Several plays later, Edwards used a screen to get to the right side of the court and hit a silky-smooth mid-range bank shot. Driving down the middle lane, Washington blew by Towns and hit a tough layup over Gobert, absorbing the contact. Down 90-89, Towns used another off-ball screen to slip by his defender and hit a contested three-point shot. Sneaking his way into the paint, Edwards forced the defense to collapse and found the wide-open Towns who hit the deep corner three to put them up 95-90.
After a bad response to a Jones screen, Irving found himself with a wide-open shot which forced Gobert to step up and leave Gafford open. After receiving a quick bounce pass from Irving, Gafford took off from the left side of the rim and did a complete 180 to finish on the right side to avoid Kyle Anderson. With three minutes left to play, Edwards couldn’t break past his defender off a drive, so he dished it out to the nearby Towns who launched and drained another three to make it 98-92.
A few plays later Edwards saved what would’ve been a fruitless possession with a clever pivot step to extend their lead to 100-92 with 1:45 left. A poorly missed Dallas three came Irving’s way and he went to work, faking a drive right then going left, and hitting a left-hand floater over Gobert to cut the lead 100-97.
In desperate need of a shot, Edwards stepped up when it mattered the most as he used a screen to hit a mid-range shot to make it a two-possession game 102-97, with 38 seconds left. In this crucial moment, Irving had the ball but threw it away on a bad pass which Anderson picked off. However, after Conley split a pair of free throws off an intentional foul, Doncic made a hail-mary shot from 29 feet out while drawing the foul. However, he could not finish the four-point play, and after a Naz Reid layup, the Timberwolves pulled ahead to force a game five in Minnesota.
This proved to be a crucial game for the Wolves, but in my opinion, if they’re serious about a comeback they need to get it together. In total, Dallas out-scored Minnesota 30-15 in points off turnovers, but Dallas had 20 points in transition in the first half alone. The team as a whole turned the ball over and picked up silly fouls, making this game a lot harder than it should’ve been. However, Karl Anthony-Towns found his rhythm this game with an electric fourth-quarter performance and if he can keep it up, the Mavericks are in some trouble.
I think Gobert isn’t proving to be the high-level, defense-oriented player we know him to be. He won the Defensive Player of the Year, but he’s being embarrassed by the inexperienced big men on the Mavericks. He already has a small offensive artillery, scoring his only points off good finds or free throws, and on defense has been extremely inefficient in pick-and-roll situations. Granted, in this game he had to play more conservatively as he was in foul trouble, but I genuinely question the value of his presence on defense. If they want any shot of forcing a game six, Gobert needs to step up and protect the painted area. To be fair, the Mavericks did most of their damage off drive and kicks, but if the paint is poorly guarded you’re letting them pick their poison.
Even though Doncic had a good game, while watching the game live it was clear he was struggling. In recent games he’s had to play through injuries, as he suffers from a sprained knee and sore ankle. It’s clear late into the game, that Doncic can’t be the star who seals the deal because at that point he’d be too fatigued. Kyrie Irving needs to step up and be the closer we know him to be, to take some pressure off Doncic and send the Wolves home. I’m doubtful there will be a repeat of this game because lightning doesn’t strike twice. If the Dallas big men continue to play at an elite level, this could prove to be trouble for the Timberwolves.
Either way, game five will be an unforgettable matchup for the Minnesota crowd and the viewers at home. It’ll be a moment where we see who rises to the moment, and who falters to the pressure.
