The Dallas Mavericks have another shot at closing out the Minnesota Timberwolves when the two teams clash in Game 5 of their Western Conference Finals Thursday night inside the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They tip it off at 8:30 p.m.
Bookmaker has installed the home team Timberwolves as a slight 4 1/2 favorite in a huge Game 5 that they must win.
The Mavericks had a chance to close out the series but were not able to come through late during a 105-100 setback on Tuesday night. They had several attempts and opportunities to win this game and garner the sweep, but they had some costly turnovers late and also had some bad defensive breakdowns.
Offensively, they needed to get a clean game from their dynamic duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, and that did not happen. Doncic ended with 28 points while Irving had 16, but they both had some bad shot selections early on as the Mavericks trailed by five points heading into the 4th quarter.
They also committed some poor turnovers, accounting for a combined total of seven turnovers out of the team's total of 22. If they can play smarter basketball and step up their interior defense, they should be able to keep this game close heading into the fourth quarter and get a win.
The Timberwolves got some great production and scoring from all of their starters, and even their bench chipped in with 14 points. They made big shot after big shot late, including getting some timely and clutch baskets from Anthony Edwards, who looked brilliant and unstoppable at times. He ended the game with a team-high 29 points and 10 boards for the win.
Minnesota connected on 11-of-24 from beyond the arc in the win, and they had some huge shots from Karl-Anthony Towns, who ended the night with 25 points and was a red-hot 4-of-5 from three-point land.
The Timberwolves will continue to look to push the pace in Game 5 while also trying to win the game on the defensive end of the floor. They also reached the line 25 times, and their guards can be very aggressive, putting the ball on the floor and driving straight to the rim. If they can slow down Doncic and keep the game close heading into the fourth quarter, they can force a Game 6 with a win.
The Timberwolves have a record of 3-2 in their last five games, and their record against the spread is just 1-4. The totals have gone over in four out of their last five games, and the totals have gone over in 18 out of their last 41 games at home. The Mavericks are 3-2 in their last five games, as well as 3-2 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 27-14 in their road contests against the number.
