DALLAS, Feb. 14 (US): Kyrie Irving has been trying to get Luka Doncic. The All-Star guard for the Dallas Mavericks has been trying to do the same with his new teammate making his home debut.
Neither of them got a shot in the final seconds, the AP reports, and the Mavs’ big comeback attempt came up short against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“Man. I’m still trying to recover emotionally… I’m still so tough,” Irving said. “Oh, man. I’d at least like to get a shot.”
Irving had the highest scoring fourth quarter of his career, scoring 26 of his 36 points in the last 12 minutes Monday night. But he made a poor pass after stepping inside the 3-point line on the final possession after Minnesota canceled the timing between him and Doncic by hitting the inside pass in the backcourt. The Timberwolves nearly took a 26-point lead but held on to win, 124-121.
After Doncic tracked the inside lane, he passed into Irving before crossing the midfield. Irving faked the No. 3 and it returned to Doncic, who returned it to him almost immediately on a rebound pass before the final turn.
“Awesome stop,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “The guys wanted to play with it. They trusted the defense in that moment.” “He did a really good job of disrupting their play, pressing and denying catches. He forced them out. And it became a broken play.”
It was a great defensive game at the end for the visitors, said Doncic, who finished with 33 points.
“We didn’t get a clear shot, we passed each other, but I think it was a great defence,” said Doncic. “I was trying to get him, he was trying to give me a chance, in the end, nobody got a shot, but he was coming off.”
This was the second match Irving and Doncic played together. The Mavs lost both, falling in overtime in Sacramento on Saturday night. Irving, who was acquired a week earlier from the Brooklyn Nets, played two games on the road for Dallas before both wins.
“I really wanted this win,” Irving said.
First-time All-Star guard Anthony Edwards scored 32 points and Rudy Gobert had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who took the biggest lead at 89-63 on a long jump back from Edwards midway through the third quarter.
That lead fell to 107-97 with about nine minutes left after a 25-foot shot from Irving, who had missed a reverse corner kick by Josh Green on the previous ball.
Irving, who shot 11 of 12 in the fourth quarter, was 3 in the final half minute, shortly after Doncic’s turnover.
There was a stretch a few minutes before that when Irving made a rebound pass to Theo Benson, who missed a layup but the newly acquired eight-time star was there to bounce back. Doncic added a 3-pointer right after that.
“I have to either get a shot, if there is one, or allow Luka to have some space to get a shot and not turn the ball over in that situation,” Irving said of the final seconds. “So, it’s about me, just being smart about these situations. But if you look at the game in general, you know, I’m just grateful we were in that situation.”
Christian Wood added 24 points for the Mavericks. He had 18 of those in the second quarter, including 13 in a row at once
Gobert was 9-of-9 from the field, Jaden McDaniels was 7-of-8 and scored 19 points.
Tip-ins
Timberwolves: From a six-game losing streak through the end of 2022, Minnesota has only had a losing streak once. The T’s are 15-8 in this stretch.
Mavericks: Tim Hardaway Jr. was suffering from tight right hamstring after playing just 15 minutes before halftime in Sacramento. The Mavericks are still without Maxi Kleber, who has missed 31 games since December.
Side view
The match was attended by Wu Yiping, who on Sunday at the Dallas Open became the first Chinese player to win an ATP tournament title. The 23-year-old Wu overcame 44 aces, four match points and a third-set tie-breaker to beat John Isner in the final. Wu sat in the second row of the court behind commentator and former player Alex Rodriguez.
the next
Timberwolves: Washington hosts Thursday night.
Rial