Mavericks beat Wolves again in the decisive phase and take a 3-0 lead

DALLAS – Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving each scored 33 points and the Dallas Mavericks again made all the important plays in the final period, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-107 on Sunday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

The Mavericks finished the game on a 14-3 run to win their fifth consecutive playoff game after rookie center Dereck Lively II left the field with a sprained neck after Karl-Anthony Towns accidentally hit the back of the head.

No team in NBA playoff history has recovered from a 3-0 deficit. Game 4 will take place on Tuesday night in Dallas.

“We just say we need one more,” Doncic said. “Nothing done. They have a great team, so nothing [is] not finished yet. We need to get another one, and when we get another one, we need the rest.”

PJ Washington started the decisive run with a three-pointer from the corner after Doncic passed to Irving, who passed the ball to Washington.

From then on, the co-stars took over.

Doncic shot from the zone for a four-point lead, Irving sent the crowd into ecstasy with a falling jump shot, and Doncic found Daniel Gafford for an alley-oop dunk and a 113-105 lead with 34 seconds left in the game after Gafford blocked Mike Conley's layup attempt on the other end.

“They're trying to double me all game, trying to double Ky, it just makes us better,” Doncic said. “Everybody's touching the ball, everybody's making plays. This is an unbelievable win. You know, we're coming down to the final stretch and executing.”

Anthony Edwards scored 26 points for the Wolves, but only four after scoring eight straight points for Minnesota and the Wolves tied the game in the third quarter.

After Minnesota took a 104-102 lead on a Kyle Anderson floater with five minutes left, they missed seven shots in a row.

“You have to try to score alongside them,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “All series we've had trouble finishing games. Those three-minute games we play, we lose.”

Doncic, whose game-winning three-pointer in the final seconds of Game 2 in Minneapolis gave Dallas control of the series, made 10 of 20 field goals, including 5 of 11 from distance.

Irving made 12 of 20 shots and 3 of 6 from long range, bringing the Mavs within one win of their first NBA Finals appearance since 2011, when they won the franchise's only championship.