MINNEAPOLIS — For most of the night, the Timberwolves’ primary scorers, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, struggled to score. Their teammates picked them up for a large portion of the game, but it wasn’t enough as Dallas’ two stars led the Mavericks to a 108-105 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
Edwards had 19 points and Towns had 16 as they combined to shoot 12 for 36 from the field.
Luka Doncic had 33 and Kyrie Irving had 30 for Dallas. They were 24 for 49.
The Wolves’ defense had its best quarter against Dallas in the fourth, but they couldn’t provide enough firepower, especially down the stretch, to overcome Dallas. Doncic delivered a key elbow jumper to make it 106-102 with 49.2 seconds remaining. Irving iced the game with two free throws with seven seconds to play.
Mike Conley went to the line for three free throws with 1.8 seconds to play, but he missed the second, ending any chance the Wolves had of tying on a tip-in bucket.
The Wolves had a 102-98 lead with 3 minutes, 37 seconds to play but didn’t score again until there were 9.9 seconds left as their late-game offense couldn’t convert. A turnover from Jaden McDaniels, who led the Wolves with 24 points, led to a P.J. Washington 3 that gave Dallas the lead for good with 1:56 to play. Officials waved off a potential tying basket from Towns with 1:41 to play after they ruled Towns put back the ball for a dunk while it was still in the cylinder.
The Wolves led 89-84 after 3s from Reid and McDaniels to open the fourth. But momentum turned when the Wolves lost a challenge on a potential Conley offensive rebound after officials deemed Conley had a “subtle but effective” push on Tim Hardaway Jr. trying to grab the board. The crowd did not like the call.
After that, Doncic scored seven consecutive points and Dallas took a 91-89 lead, forcing a Wolves timeout with 9:07 left, and Edwards checked back into the game.
But Towns had an air-ball and the Wolves had two consecutive turnovers that led to six more Dallas points and a 97-89 Mavericks lead.
The Wolves had an answer in the form of a 10-1 run that featured a 3 from Towns, who gave the Wolves a 99-98 lead with 4:39 to play. After a Dallas timeout, Edwards buried a 3, but those would be the last points the Wolves scored before it was too late.
Game 2 is Friday at Target Center.
Edwards had 11 rebounds and eight assists while Kyle Anderson pitched in 11 points off the bench for the Wolves. The Mavericks outrebounded the Wolves 48-40 and had 62 paint points to the Wolves’ 38.