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Anthony Edwards turned it on in the second half on Sunday night in an attempt to keep the Minnesota Timberwolves’ season alive.
His run, though, came just a bit too late.
Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks, after largely shutting down Edwards and the Timberwolves early, held on down the stretch to claim a 116-107 win in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals at the American Airlines Center on Sunday. That pushed the Mavericks to a commanding 3-0 lead in the series, which now has them just a single win away from making their first NBA Finals appearance since 2011.
Dončić and Kyrie Irving had yet another strong outing together, too, The duo combined for 66 points in the win for Dallas, and they helped spark a 14-3 run to close out the game and the nine-point win. Irving hit a huge contested corner 3-pointer during that run, which all-but pushed Minnesota out of reach.
Dončić has averaged 32.7 points per game so far in the Western Conference finals, and Irving has scored at least 30 points in two of their three wins.
The Mavericks are now just one win away from their first NBA Finals trip since 2011. (Kevin Jairaj/USA Today)
Mavericks jump up early, lose Dereck Lively
The Mavericks jumped up quickly over the Timberwolves after a strong first half, but they lost center Dereck Lively in the process.
Lively, who has shot a perfect 13-of-13 from the field so far this series, dominated yet again inside to kick off Game 3. He even threw down a massive dunk over Rudy Gobert in the first quarter.
But early in the second quarter, Lively took an inadvertent knee to the back of his head in the paint from Karl Anthony-Towns. That sent him down to the court hard, where he remained curled up in a ball clearly unwell for quite some time. Eventually, he was helped off the court very slowly.
Lively was considered questionable to return at halftime with a neck sprain, and he was eventually ruled out. He finished with six points and three rebounds. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out, but his status for Game 4 is absolutely in doubt.
Despite losing Lively, the Mavericks pushed ahead to a 60-52 lead at halftime after a mini…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-playoffs-luka-doncic-mavericks-power-past-anthony-edwards-to-take-a-3-0-lead-over-timberwolves-024023251.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-05-27 02:40:23
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