NBA playoffs: Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves finally grab win over Mavericks to avoid sweep

There won’t be a pair of sweeps in the conference finals this postseason after all.

After struggling to get past Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks early in the series, the Minnesota Timberwolves are finally on the board. The Timberwolves surged ahead in the fourth quarter behind a huge second half from Karl-Anthony Towns to grab a 105-100 win in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals at the American Airlines Center on Tuesday night.

The win marks the Timberwolves’ first of the series, and forces a Game 5 on Thursday night back in Minneapolis. The Mavericks still hold a 3-1 lead in the series, however, and they are just a win away from their first NBA Finals trip in 13 years. The Timberwolves, who have never been to the Finals, have to win three straight to make history as the first NBA team to ever rally from a 3-0 series deficit.

KAT, Timberwolves pull ahead late

The Timberwolves jumped out early over the Mavericks on Tuesday night, and shut down just about everyone but Dončić in the first 12 minutes. The Mavericks shot just 6-of-21 from the field to open the game, and they gave up a big 14-2 burst to the Timberwolves.

The Mavericks, though, came alive before halftime. They entered the locker room tied 47-47 after using several big runs to get right back in the game. The Mavericks had 20 points off turnovers in the first half, too.

After managing just five points in the first half, Towns started playing much better than he did on Sunday — where he was just 5-of-18 from the field and 0-of-8 from behind the arc. He opened the game shooting 6-of-7 from the field and he drilled a 3-pointer early in the third to cap an 8-0 run and put the Timberwolves up again in the third quarter. But Towns picked up his fifth foul of the night just after the midway point of the quarter.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch picked up a technical after Towns’ fifth foul, too. That sent Towns to the bench. Despite losing him early in the period, the Timberwolves still took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks hung right with the Timberwolves early in the fourth, and closed the gap to a one-possession game…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-05-29 03:12:35

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