STUMP STORY OF THE DAY
Dallas Takes Game 1! Timberwolves Hangover or Mavs Legitimacy?
For anybody tuned in to last night’s opening act to the Western Conference Finals, there was a wide variety of things we could have gotten. For some reason, a blowout win or close win on either side wouldn’t have fully shocked me.
If I had to rank the 4 my least likely probably would have been a Mavs close win, if the game was close I would have thought the destined Timberwolves would be able to make one more shot at the end and get the win. Well, this is why ESPN isn’t lining up at my doorstep to hear my take on the situation because the Mavs winning close is exactly what happened.
The game never got out of reach for either team but it most definitely was a game of runs. The first half stayed tight with Kyrie putting on a show (scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half). A tight first half had the Wolves take a 3-point lead into the break.
In the 4th quarter we saw both the Mavs and the Wolves each had 7-point leads that seemed to get erased in the blink of an eye. Luka went on a personal 7-0 run and then when the Wolves needed to make a shot they seemed to always answer. Jaden McDaniels posted his third straight 20-point game and stump hero Naz Reid hit timely shots to keep his team around.
After clutch threes by Luka and PJ Washington with under two minutes to go, along with a basket interference by KAT taking off 2 crucial points for Minnesota, the Mavs were able to hang on and get the Game 1 win on the road.
Maybe it was a last-series hangover from the Wolves but they did not look like the same team we saw just two days ago. On the defensive side of the ball especially they lacked intensity, and to win this series that is where they will have to excel.
A lot of people still haven’t fully bought in to this Mavericks team but they most definitely are for real. Stealing Game 1 on the road was crucial for them and showed the world that we are in for a great series.
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