Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic has battled several obstacles during the 2024 NBA Playoffs. An illness early on left him struggling to play at his normal level and he has also been battling a knee injury. But, he has gutted it out and has come up big against the Minnesota Timberwolves when they need him most.
Trailing by as many as 18 points on Friday night, the Timberwolves looked determined to even the series at 1-1. They had a more balanced offensive attack and their defense was getting the job done, holding the Mavericks to 48 first half points.
But in the second half, Doncic and the Mavericks came alive. Their offense found more of a rhythm as he was getting into the paint at will. There he would knock down short jumpers or find his teammates for easy buckets as Daniel Gafford and Dereck Livley II lived at the rim.
Their comeback was topped off epically, as Luka Doncic had a screen set for him, switching Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert onto him. It was a matchup Dallas hunted all night and took advantage of as Gobert looked to be on ice skates on the perimeter trying to contest Doncic.
A stepback three was put up and it hit nothing but the net. Luka Doncic let Gobert and the Timberwolves faithful in the stands hear it. Head coach Jason Kidd said that was the exact play the team had drawn up.
“The play was to get Luka the ball and let Luka do what he does in those moments,” Kidd said.
Doncic finished the game with a game-high 32 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and handing out 13 assists. With Kyrie Irving having a less impactful offensive performance in Game 2 than in Game 1, Doncic was more than capable of picking up the slack.
Credit needs to once again go to Irving and the Mavericks for how they are playing against Anthony Edwards. He was shut down again, shooting 5-of-17 from the field and scoring 21 points, nine of which came at the foul line.
With their top dog not playing at a high level, the Timberwolves are falling short in crunch time. That is when Luka Doncic and Irving have thrived, giving the Mavericks a 2-0 lead as they had back to Dallas for Games 3 and 4.
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