Doncic explodes as Mavericks cruise past Timberwolves and take Aussies Green, Exum into NBA Finals Series

Staff Writers

2 Min Read31 May, 2024

Josh Green (8) and fellow Boomer Dante Exum have reached the NBA Finals with the Dallas Mavericks. Credit: AP

Australian pair Josh Green and Dante Exum are on their way to the NBA Finals, after a post-season-high 36 points from Luka Doncic fired the Dallas Mavericks past the Minnesota Timberwolves in game five of their Western Conference matchup.

Kyrie Irving also scored 36 points for the Mavericks, who built a 29-point halftime lead on 61 per cent shooting, as they eased to a 124-103 win on Thursday and a 4-1 series triumph.

Boomers Green and Exum also saw plenty of court time as the Mavs, fifth seed in the West, took their place in the NBA Finals which begin in Boston on June 6.

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It will be Dallas’s first appearance since winning the championship in 2011.

Their opponents the Celtics will have had 10 days between games after sweeping Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals.

Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 and 12 rebounds for the third-seeded Timberwolves, who met their match with the defence-smashing duo of Doncic and Irving.

Doncic set a defiant tone by starting 4-for-4, hitting rainbows from 28 and 31 feet as he turned to talk trash to the courtside fans with each swish, often with a sly smile.

He drained a 32-footer later in the first quarter as the Mavs closed on a 17-1 spurt, a run they pushed to 28-5 over a nine-minute stretch.

Doncic, who shot 14 for 22 and grabbed 10 rebounds, and his savvy sidekick Irving - who has a championship ring from 2016 with Cleveland - were the superior stars in this series.

“He let his teammates know that it’s time and they’ve got to take it up a notch,” coach Jason Kidd said of Doncic. “He sent the invites out, and they all came.”

Edwards, though he hit the 25-point mark for the 15th time in 27 career playoff games, had trouble finding his rhythm and the Wolves, for all their progress this season, were reminded they don’t yet have a championship offence despite his dynamic skills and clutch mentality.

“We never clicked all together as a team in this series, not even one game,” Edwards said.

“The last two series, we were all clicking at one time, making shots and stuff. It wasn’t clicking at one time here.”