The Dallas Mavericks had to rely on Kyrie Irving for most of the Western Conference Finals rematch against Minnesota, but Luka Doncic had the last word on Tuesday night as he made a clutch three to put Anthony Edwards and co. away. Luka Doncic reflected on the fact that he was missing everything until that point of the game.
“I don’t know how I can make those shots and not normal shots. I just got to get the rustiness out. And I’ll be back. We got a win and that’s all that matters.”
Luka Doncic went for 24 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists, but he was 0-of-7 until he hit a 32-footer to put the Mavericks up by eight with 1:04 to go on the way to a 120-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Doncic dealt with an injury scare in the game, and Kyrie Irving took over, scoring 25 of his 35 points in the second half.
“We have me, Klay (Thompson), Kai. Those two guys, anybody can take a shot,” Luka Doncic said, per Mavs.com. “Sometimes they’re going to double us if somebody’s hot and in this situation, they doubled Kai, so I got the opportunity to shoot it. Got to say thank-you to Kai.”
Nikola Jokic, Nuggets survive second OT in the row
The Denver Nuggets are struggling to start the season, trying to build momentum with their last two wins in the OT against Toronto and Brooklyn. Nikola Jokic went off for his second straight triple-double, notching 29 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists. Russell Westbrook followed the 3-time MVP with 22 points as the Nuggets beat the Nets 144-139.
The Nuggets superstar praised Russ for his contribution in the third and fourth quarters.
“Russ was really amazing; in the third or fourth quarter, I don’t know, he kept us in the game. He was pushing the pace, made a couple of shots; he was really good today,” Jokic said of his veteran teammate (h/t Clutchpoints).
Aaron Gordon also had his best performance of the season and scored 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The Nuggets tied their record at 2 wins and 2 losses after starting the season with 0-2.
