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MINNEAPOLIS — You don’t become a champion in this NBA by playing it safe. You accept risk and if your culture is what you think it is, it can pay off.
Or it can help build a culture.
The Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves were in two different places when they threw pessimism to the wind and embraced the unknown.
Dallas took on Kyrie Irving when he was considered radioactive by basketball standards, and the Timberwolves paid a king’s ransom of draft picks in acquiring Rudy Gobert months prior.
Luka Dončić advances to the round where he can wear the crown that has sat on different heads the last six years after his individual greatness forced the organization’s hand in getting him a suitable running mate.
The NBA Finals await the Dallas Mavericks for the third time in franchise history, and they’ll meet the Boston Celtics on Thursday night in Boston, by virtue of a 124-103 Game 5 win at Target Center.
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić celebrates with the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP award after Game 5 on Thursday night. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Dončić was awarded the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP award for his overall performance, but it was his fiery start to the evening that was so very reminiscent of the last time the Mavericks made a deep playoff run, when they wiped out the favored Phoenix Suns in a shocking seventh game blowout in the second round in 2022.
In that one, Dončić scored 42 and taunted everybody in Phoenix. On this night, he removed little doubt of bringing the Timberwolves back to Dallas for a pressure-packed Game 6 by dropping 20 vicious points in the first quarter — outscoring the opposition by himself in the stanza.
“He was definitely Luka magic on his own,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “He set the tone. Game 7 in Phoenix, it was very close to that. He took the crowd out the game right off the bat. And he let his teammates know that we got to take it up a notch and he joined the party. But he said he sent the invites out, and they all came.”
He would’ve sent invites to the crowd — the fans who were powerless to stop him but…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/2024-nba-playoffs-mavericks-treacherous-path-to-nba-finals-is-culmination-of-brilliant-partnership-062151556.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-05-31 06:21:51
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