Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving have the Dallas Mavericks one win away from the NBA Finals.
The superstar duo was spectacular yet again on Sunday night, with Dončić posting 33 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals in his team’s 116-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavericks now hold a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
His running mate, Irving, finished with an equally impressive 33 points and four assists. Anthony Edwards led the Wolves with 26 points, nine rebounds and nine dimes, while Karl-Anthony Town had a rough night (14 points, 5-of-18 from the field, 0-of-8 from three).
Dončic wasn’t just good, he was also efficient, finishing 10-for-20 from the field (5-of-11 from three). And that efficiency, playmaking and his ability to get even better as the game reached crunch time had NBA fans and pundits singing his praises—and Irving’s as well:
Robert Griffin III @RGIII
A lot of people have to apologize to Luka and Kyrie. They are a perfect match together. pic.twitter.com/6t5g8ILbcW
Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Mavericks stars Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic combine to score 21 of their 66 points in the fourth quarter to put the Timberwolves on the brink of elimination.
Per @ESPNStatsInfo, Doncic and Irving are the first starting backcourt to each score 30+ three times in a playoff run…
Nate Jones @JonesOnTheNBA
Luka and Kyrie are demoralizing because they hit ridiculous shots like it’s routine. As @bandwagonknick said, it feels like the points are worth more b/c of degree of difficulty. It’s not like when someone gets lucky on a shot. It’s a gut punch when you know they’re just great.
A central theme has emerged in this series—the Mavericks and Wolves are incredibly even teams for about 45 or so minutes, and then the closers take over. And the Mavericks have two of the best clutch players in basketball in Dončić and Irving.
That shouldn’t overshadow that the Mavericks’ role players have also played fantastic basketball, or that Minnesota’s best players not named Edwards haven’t stepped up enough to at least steal one game in this series.
But the Wolves have kept things close nonetheless, and Dončić and Irving have crushed them in the clutch. Remember how Game 2 ended?
Or how about Dončić scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter of Game 1?
These are two good teams. But when the game’s on the line, the Mavericks are better, and that comes down to the star duo of Dončić and Irving.
