The Dallas Mavericks took a commanding 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals and are a win away from going back to the NBA Finals for the first time since they won it in 2011. It’s worth mentioning that no team in the history of the league has gotten out of a 3-0 hole and advanced.
Fans at the American Airlines Center got their money’s worth thanks to a spectacular Game 3 showcase by their home team, which ended in a convincing 116-107 win over the visiting Timberwolves.
Kyrie Irving went deep in his bag in crunch time and proceeded to drive the bus, scoring 14 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, while his running mate, Luka Doncic, continued to dazzle the basketball world with 33 points of his own.
The Mavs look unstoppable when these two are clicking, but they can’t rest on their laurels just yet, as they’ll need to secure one more win to go to the NBA finals, the first for the outfit since 2011, the first for Irving since 2016, and the first ever for Luka.
The series can’t end in a sweep, can it? Not after the Wolves swept the Suns and beat Denver in seven, surely not.
Tough shot takers, tough shot makers
Undeniably, the Dallas Mavericks have one of the best closing backcourts in the entire NBA in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. The Timberwolves simply don’t have the personnel available to put a stop on the Dallas duo, especially during crunch time.
The Wolves’ tenacity on the defensive end made the Mavs to miss a lot of open threes in Game 2, forcing a cinematic finish that needed the heroics of Luka Doncic to seal the deal, but it was an entirely different story in Game 3.
The Dallas Mavericks played better at home, shooting 55.9 per cent from the field, 50 per cent from downtown, and 83.6 per cent from the stripe. Everybody on the Dallas roster was pitching in on this one, but overall, it was once again the duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving who got it done for the Mavs.
Wolves head coach Chris Finch, from the get-go, threw every abled Wolves body on Kyrie and Luka, and from the get-go, every abled Wolves body failed. To their defence, the game didn’t go out of hand, and it was an all-out dog fight from start to finish.
However, just like in Games 1 and 2, the ability of both Luka and Kyrie to close out games proved to be the X factor that gives Dallas the edge over Minnesota.
Let’s delve into this, shall we? Game 3 was tied 87-87 to start the fourth thanks to a third-quarter rally by the Wolves led by Anthony Edwards. However, the game quickly went in favour of the Mavs thanks to the efforts of their backcourt.
Kyrie started the fourth quarter with 19 points and ended with 33, while Luka started the fourth with 26 points and also ended with 33. Time and time again, Jason Kidd leans on his backcourt to finish games, and time and time again, they deliver.
Moreover, there weren’t any freebies during crunch time; Luka and Kyrie simply drained tough shot after tough shot.
Wolves go back to the drawing board
I recently wrote a preview for the first game of this series, and in that piece, I asked the question, who will step up to help Kyrie and Luka on the Mavs? Boy, was I barking up the wrong tree?
The Mavs completely flipped the script and played like the more unified team in the Western Conference finals. This in turn forces me to now ask, who will step up to help ANT on the Wolves?
Chris Finch stated in the Game 3 post-game conference that Anthony Edwards needed to improve on his decision-making, the same Anthony Edwards that led the Wolves in points and assists. The same Anthony Edwards who played the most minutes for Minnesota and singlehandedly kept them within striking distance.
Edwards could’ve been better on his decision-making during Game 3, sure, but their loss wasn’t about ANT. Instead, this SBOTOP writer thinks that it’s the Wolves’ lack of adjustments.
Finch keeps rolling out the same guys since Game 1, particularly Gobert and Towns together. And since Game 1, it’s been evident that their drop coverage just isn’t working when facing a floor general of Luka’s calibre.
Time and time again, Luka calls for a high pick and roll, forcing Minnesota’s bigs to come out of the paint. Ultimately, the one-two game between Luka and either Gafford or Lively ends on a lob, an iso mismatch, or a free lane to the basket.
Now that their backs are definitely against the wall, will the Wolves finally switch things up defensively? We’ll just have to see in Game 4.
History
The Mavs have made their way back to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2022. In that series, they suffered a gentleman’s sweep against the Golden State Warriors, who ended up winning the championship against the Celtics that year.
Meanwhile, the last time the Wolves made it this far into the playoffs was back in 2004, when they faced the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers got past them in six games before losing to the Detroit Pistons 4-1 in the finals.
What are the odds?
With momentum and home advantage on their side, the NBA 2024 odds have the Dallas Mavericks as the 1.66 favourites, while the disgruntled Wolves are the underdogs at 2.28.
Over/Under 210.00 is the even line for their totals, and in my opinion, punters should consider the over price at 1.89 as both outfits can put up big numbers and multiple NBA 2024 highlights to boot.
Dallas have Luka Doncic, the league’s 2024 scoring champion, while the Minnesota Timberwolves have the fourth-best offence in the league during the regular season. All these factors suggest a high scoring output for Game 4, especially because it’s an elimination game for the Wolves.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE BASKETBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
