MINNEAPOLIS — Despite trailing by as many as 18 points, the Dallas Mavericks chipped away at the Minnesota Timberwolves' advantage to the point of having a chance to take a commanding 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference finals. Luka Doncic, who finished with 32 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds, had the ball facing a 108-106 deficit with 12.1 seconds coming out of a timeout. He worked his magic on a game-winning step-back 3-pointer to secure a 109-108 victory.
"With Luka’s ability to create space, in that moment, with Luka, he loves that stage," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. "He doesn’t run from it, and he made a big shot. I thought he was great all game keeping the guys together... Luka is special, and he loves those types of moments."
The Mavericks expected Minnesota to switch the final possession, whether it would be Gobert or not. As long as Doncic received the ball in a position to have space to get into a rhythm and attack for the final shot, the team was confident in their chances of taking the game. Quickly after inbounding the ball, Dallas deployed Dereck Lively II as a screener to bring his man into the action and gauge if Minnesota would remain intent on switching. Sure enough, Gobert did.
“Well first, I thought getting the ball in and setting the screen, beginning to execute," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. "We felt like they were going to ‘red’, with Rudy (Gobert) or someone else. They had been doing that pretty much, there in the fourth quarter. We wanted to get Luka the ball, give him space, and let him do what he does."
With Lively diving to the rim and taking Jaden McDaniels with him, the space Doncic was looking for established the circ*mstances he needed to make a play in isolation.
"I just saw some space and decided to shoot a 3," Doncic said after leading the Mavericks to the third-biggest playoff comeback in franchise history. "Get to my spot, step back. That's it."
Gobert was focused on accounting for the step back going to Doncic's left while respecting the threat of a drive by a right-handed player. Naturally, that left him vulnerable to Doncic, showing what makes him such a lethal threat; he decided to take a step back going right after selling him on going left before countering with the between-the-legs dribble and ultimately hitting the shot.
"I thought he set him up for the step back because of him attacking the paint over and over," Kidd said. "Rudy has to honor that."
Doncic's artistry was a prime example of not pre-determining the approach but instead having those additional layers in his arsenal as a shot creator to deploy on the fly when the situation calls for it. Gobert's approach was sound for most outcomes, but one of the least frequent of them was the one that wasDoncic utilized to make a four-time Defensive Player of the Year pay.
"I don't decide what I'm going to look before the play. I just see what defense gives me," Doncic said.
Doncic did mention he didn't expect the Timberwolves to switch on the final possession. He was prepared to play pick-and-roll with Lively but made a play on instinct after seeing how Gobert was guarding him out on the perimeter after switching.
"I didn't expect they were going to switch. We were just going to play that pick-and-roll. I told [Lively] just come, and we'll figure out from there. That's about it. Read the defense"
On the previous possession, Gobert shaded Doncic completely to his right while having help at the nail, neutralizing any possibility of Doncic taking a step-back going to his left. Doncic attacked downhill and snaked into the gap to avoid Anderson's nail help, which prompted Naz Reid to help off the dunker spot and contest what became a step-back in short-range that Doncic missed. That was a sound defensive approach and aligns with Minnesota coach Chris Finch's strategy of wanting to see what took place instead of what happened on Doncic's game-winning shot. This is why the Timberwolves were content with not doubling him.
"No, the idea was to switch up, press him inside the three-point line," Finch said.
When looking even a possession further back than the final two plays, Kyrie Irving's catch-and-shoot 3-pointer when Dallas trailed by five points in clutch time was the product of Doncic being double-teamed late in the clock. It began with Lively, guarded by Anderson, screening to get McDaniels switched off Doncic. Minnesota showed help early at the nail despite Irving being spaced deep off the line on the weak-side wing. Doncic drew the nail help before a bounce pass to Irving, who stampede attacked downhill to touch the paint before spraying it out to Derrick Jones Jr., who passed it back to Doncic at the top of the key—resulting in Minnesota doubling him. He looked off the defense with a pass fake before finding Irving late in the clock for a pivotal jumper. Given how talented of a passer Doncic is, this was a great example of the danger of doubling him.
Markieff Morris emphasized that even though Gobert is an elite defender, it's naturally going tobe challenging for any seven-foot player to contain Doncic in space. Morris is confident the Mavericks can getwhatever they want playing out of those circ*mstances if Minnesota switches with Gobert and doesn't send a double team.
"No disrespect to Rudy Gobert, Defensive Player of the Year, but if he's 40 feet away from the basket guarding Luka, we winning every time," Morris told MavericksGameday.com "Long three, layup, we can get everything we want. If they try to show us something different. We've seen it at the play before. We dared them to do it again the next play, and they did it, and see what happens to them."
Irving is familiar with making big shots in pivotal moments, his most famous being a go-ahead 3-pointer over Stephen Curry in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. After Irving saw Gobert switch onto Doncic, he knew what would happen the rest of the way and remained confident in his superstar teammate each step of the way.
"Utmost confidence in my brother, man," Irving said of Doncic. "Got a great switch [with] Rudy, and I know exactly what he was thinking. It was just time to get ready for the magic to happen and he's got to his move, shot it with confidence as we know he'll always do, and took us home tonight, man. That's one of those wins where we could look back on and reflect and really be proud of ourselves and the little things that it took to get this win tonight.
"He's prepared for these moments, and he's built for these moments," Irving explained. "So things like that happen. I'm not surprised, but as a brother, I'm just nothing short of proud. He took us home tonight, man."
While outsiders may be penciling in the Mavericks and Boston Celtics as the 2024 NBA Finals matchup, Irving emphasized the need to stay true to the focus on the task at hand. A 2-0 series lead can be lost as quickly as it was gained, even if the next two games will be played at American Airlines Center. Once the team reached the plane back to Dallas, he wanted the celebration to end.
"We can carry on to Game 3, but we also understand that it's no time to be satisfied," Irving said. "We got 40 minutes to celebrate it. We got to get on this plane, go back to Dallas, and get ready for another hard-fought battle because. That team is not going to give up and you know exactly what they're capable of."
Doncic echoed Irving's sentiment about how the Mavericks not having yet accomplished anything, saying, "Great, but like I say, first to four [wins], nothing is won. We've got to just think about next game, not in the future... We just got to think about the next game. That's it."
Even after Doncic's big shot, the Timberwolves had a chance to hit a game-winning shot of their own. Despite already having made seven 3-pointers in the game, Reid was left open for the final shot and
"I wasn't thinking. I almost passed out," Doncic said. "That was looking good. Too good. Oh, my God. He couldn't miss today."
The late-game execution capped off what proved to be an "insane" comeback effort, continuing to exemplify the resolve of not only Doncic but the team as a collective.
"Like I always say, stay together positive energy at some point down 18 [points] on the road, which is insane to come back from," Doncic said. "We believe untill the end of the buzzer."
The Mavericks will have the chance to take a commanding 3-0 series lead on Sunday when they face the Timberwolves in Game 3 of the series.
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