NBA Finals: It’s Mavs vs Celtics

THE DALLAS Mavericks have secured their ticket to the NBA Finals after beating the higher-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, 124-103, in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. 

The finals are now set between the Mavs and Boston Celtics. The Eastern Conference team clinched their finals seat on Tuesday, beating Indiana Pacers, 108-105, in a 4-0 fashion and recorded their second finals appearance in three seasons.

Meanwhile, this would be the first time that the Dallas Mavericks will enter the finals after winning a title against the LeBron James-led Miami Heat in 2011. 

During their finals-clinching game, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for a massive 72-point production. Doncic finished with 36 points, 11 rebounds and five assists while Irving had 36 points, four rebounds and five assists.

Throughout the Western Conference Finals, Doncic had been the main driving force for the Mavs. He averaged a whopping 32.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists on 47.3% shooting per game. 

This then earned him the Earvin “Magic” Johnson trophy as he was named as the Western Conference Finals MVP, bulldozing the Timberwolves, who were the favorites to enter the NBA Finals.

Despite the loss, Anthony Edwards did not disappoint, scoring 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists. It was backed by Karl Anthony Towns’ 28 points, 12 rebounds and two assists.

The finals match between the two teams has a lot of storylines in it. Irving was a former player of Boston who’ll make his return to the city. Just like him, Kristaps Porzingis will also be facing his former team in Dallas. 

While this will be Doncic’s first NBA Finals appearance, his veteran teammate Irving will have his fourth appearance. His previous three was with James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, when they brought home the historic title in 2016.

Irving is delighted about his comeback, saying that it has been a “long time coming.” It’s been seven long years since his last finals appearance but he believes that this is just the perfect time. 

“As a kid, that’s what you dream of. To get into the [NBA] Finals and be able to play the best of the best with the whole world watching,” said the star guard during the post-game interview.

“It feels great. I’ll definitely not take this moment for granted because of how hard we had to work to get here. We had to earn our spot in the NBA Finals. We had to go against great opponents and I felt that they got us (to be] better as a team,” he said.

Dallas faced tough squads in the West, playing LA Clippers in the first round, top-seeded OKC Thunder and now the Timberwolves, which had been massive in the postseason, eliminating the reigning NBA champions in Denver Nuggets.

Both teams will have a few days to prepare as the NBA Finals will tip-off on June 7, Friday, 8:30 a.m (PH time). Dallas will be the visiting team come game time.