Mavericks knock Timberwolves out of playoffs in blowout fashion in Game 5

You could hear a pin drop at Target Center. 

The sold-out crowd in downtown Minneapolis was quiet as a mouse. The Timberwolves never found their footing in a 124-103 blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals Thursday night, a loss that ended a special season that won’t soon be forgotten.

The Mavericks advance to face the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals with the 4-1 series victory.

Luka Doncic quickly shut down any optimism that the Timberwolves’ Game 4 victory would give them new life in the series. Doncic knocked down a trio of early 3-pointers from out near the logo — an indication of what was to come the remainder of the game. Doncic scored 20 first-quarter points.

The Timberwolves as a team scored just 19 points in the opening frame. 

“He hit like three shots from the logo,” Anthony Edwards said of Doncic. “Pretty much nothing we can do about it.”

The Timberwolves were never able to find an answer for Doncic in the series. That was clear in Game 5 as Doncic was on a mission to close out the series. He did a little bit of everything like he did all series long, hitting shots from outside — it didn’t matter if they were contested or coming from the logo. It didn’t make a difference what the TImberwolves threw at him.

“Luka came out tonight, put a stamp on the game. Hit a couple bomb 3s that kinda got them really loosened up,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “… The game kind of slipped away from us in the first quarter when we missed a lot of easy stuff, went one on one too early, just really kind of got busted out of any kind of offensive structure. Then we couldn’t get stops.”

Doncic was able to dissect the Timberwolves defense. He’d either finish in the paint himself or create open looks for his teammates. Doncic tallied 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Doncic and the second of the Mavericks’ dynamic duo, Kyrie Irving, largely drove a first-half effort that saw the Mavericks build an insurmountable 29-point lead by the halftime break.

The Timberwolves shot just 35% from the field and 17% from 3-point range in the opening 24 minutes on their way to a mere 40 points. Doncic and Irving combined to score 44 for the Mavs.

Irving also finished his night with 36 points as well as five assists and four rebounds.

The duo of Irving and Doncic each delivered masterful close-out performances.

Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns each put together solid games with 28 points apiece. They attempted to lead a third-quarter run, but the Wolves were only able to cut the deficit to 24. It wasn’t nearly enough to give themselves a chance to get back in it in the fourth quarter.

And Irving and Doncic completely canceled out their offensive production.

There simply wasn’t enough energy or effort on either side of the ball. The game was essentially over by the end of the first quarter. It was a difficult way to see what was truly a special season come to an end. It was a game that MInnesota just never truly showed up in.

“I just wish it didn’t end like that,” Naz Reid said. “They just played better than us. We beat ourselves a lot of times. I think we had a great season … I just wish we didn’t go out like that.”

The end result was the Mavericks claiming the Western Conference title on the Target Center floor.

“We’ll be back next year,” Edwards said.