Timberwolves season ends in 124-103 blowout loss to Mavericks in Western Conference Finals
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Luka Doncic made sure from the opening tip in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals Thursday night that there would not be a Game 6 in Dallas Saturday night.
The Minnesota Timberwolves had their worst first half of the season, with their season on the line. Doncic had 20 of his 36 points in the first quarter as the Mavericks raced out to a 69-40 lead at the half. Timberwolves’ fans hoping the series would be extended instead booed their team off the court.
Former NBA player and TNT analyst Charles Barkley called the Timberwolves' effort in the first half "embarrassing."
"That was embarrassing. I’m embarrassed for these Minnesota fans. … I’m at a loss for words how bad Minnesota looked that first half."
Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who added 19 points, out-scored the Timberwolves in the first half by themselves after combining for just 44 points in Game 4. Minnesota shot 34 percent from the field, 2-of-12 from the perimeter and committed seven turnovers in the opening 24 minutes. With their season on the line and a chance to put the pressure on the Mavericks for a potential Game 6, the Timberwolves got run over. They trailed by more than 30 in the third quarter.
Doncic scored whenever he wanted, and talked trash the entire way. After a third quarter basket, he looked at a fan making a crying face, mocking that Doncic complained to officials throughout the series. He said, "Yeah, who's crying now mother****r?!"
Doncic and Irving combined for 72 points, each getting 36, as they shot a combined 28-of-49 from the field and 10-for-20 from the perimeter. The Timberwolves simply had no answer.
"They’re led by two world class players that played at a world class level. Luka came out tonight and put his stamp on the game. He hit a couple bomb threes that got him really loosened up. The game kind of slipped away from us in the first quarter. That was the game," Timberwolves' coach Chris Finch said after the loss.
Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points each, but were the only Minnesota players in double figures.
"Luka, it’s that simple. He hit like three shots from the logo, pretty much nothing we could do about it. We never clicked all together as a team in this series, not even one game. I think that was the main thing," Edwards said. "We’ll be back next year."
The Timberwolves had fourth quarter leads in every game of the series until Thursday. The Mavericks delivered the first punch, and the Timberwolves never got back off the floor.
"This is way tougher because I feel like we were right there. Early in the series we had a couple games that slipped that could’ve really turned this series. We could be looking at things a lot different right now, it’s really frustrating," Mike Conley Jr. said.
Their season is over after 56 regular season wins, the second-most in franchise history, sweeping the Phoenix Suns and eliminating the defending NBA champions in seven games. The Mavericks will move onto face the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
"Disappointed for us. We worked hard, obviously didn’t get the result we wanted. I said earlier in the playoffs we’ve always done it the Minnesota way, the toughest way possible. We’ve been used to having adversity and finding a way to get out of it. Just it didn’t work out. Played with fire maybe a little too many times," Towns said.
"I just wish it didn’t end like that. They just played better than us, we beat ourselves a lot of times. I just wish we didn’t go out like that," Naz Reid said.