Anthony Edwards channelled his inner-Michael Jordan after admitting he "took it personally" as he made sure the Minnesota Timberwolves did not go down 4-0 to the Denver Nuggets.
Having lost the first three encounters in their Western Conference first-round playoff series, the Timberwolves had one last chance to get on the board, and needed overtime to do it.
Edwards top-scored for his team with 34 at Target Center, though the hosts almost blew it after throwing away a 12-point lead in regulation.
Minnesota were able to get the job done eventually though, winning 114-108 to take the series to Game 5 in Denver, and Edwards made his motivation clear.
"I don't ever want to say I got swept in my career," he said. "So I definitely took it personally tonight."
Despite comfortably being his team's top scorer on Sunday, Edwards was in the mood for modesty after the game, focusing more on the shots he missed.
"I played terrible if you ask me," he said. "I took three bad threes, three terrible possessions, and I damn near shot us out the game. I didn't play that good tonight."
After his team's win, Wolves coach Chris Finch wanted his team to take confidence from the victory
"I think we gotta continue to get into something," Finch said. "I think that's part of the problem is we get down [on ourselves] or we're trying to close out the game too early."
Nuggets star Nikola Jokic scored 43 points with 11 rebounds and six assists, but he and his team still have work to do to finish Minnesota off.
"The hardest thing to stomach about this game is that we were unwilling and unable to get necessary stops," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.
Game 5 takes place at Ball Arena on Tuesday.
Finch bemoans Timberwolves' failure to see out win against Mavericks
Chris Finch lamented the Minnesota Timberwolves’ lack of composure in their Western Conference finals Game 1 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Timberwolves lost 108-105 on the road on Wednesday, failing to hold onto their lead in the final four minutes.
Minnesota sank just 11 of 18 from the free-throw line and committed five turnovers in the final frame, allowing Dallas to complete a late turnaround.
Asked what the biggest problem was for his side in a tight contest, Finch said: "No composure.
"We haven't really closed quarters very well, closed halves very well over the last handful of games.
"It cost us a game in the Denver series. It certainly had an impact on this game tonight, too. We've got to be better in clutch moments."
Mike Conley echoed his coach’s thoughts and believes the Timberwolves can use this as a learning curve.
"I think we haven't been tested like this where we've had to trade basket to basket, late-game free throw situations or fouling situations, stuff that we have to be better at," Conley said.
"But we'll learn from it. I think each game we've learned a lot about ourselves, a lot we can get better at. Obviously, it's going to be a long series, regardless of what happened tonight."
Meanwhile, Luka Doncic starred for Dallas once again, scoring 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to help them over the line to a Game 1 victory.
The Slovenian admits that the Mavericks wanted to make a statement by winning at home.
"We had to work really hard to get this one," said Doncic.
"I think we're known for losing game ones, so we were trying to make a point. But it's only one and we have three more [wins] to go."
NBA: Mavericks finish strong in Game 1 road win over Timberwolves
Luka Dončić scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and Kyrie Irving added 30 points as the Dallas Mavericks edged the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-105 on the road in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday night.
Dallas trailed 102-98 after Anthony Edwards’ 3-pointer with 3:37 remaining but scored the next eight points- five from Doncic - before the Timberwolves scored on a tip-in with 10.5 seconds to play.
Game 2 is Friday night in Minnesota.
Jaden McDaniels had his third straight 20-plus point game with 24 points for Minnesota and Edwards, who went scoreless in the third quarter, had 19 on 6-of-16 shooting with 11 rebounds and eight assists. Karl-Anthony Towns needed a late burst to get to 16 points and finished 6 for 20 from the field.
The Timberwolves hit 18 3-pointers to just six for the Mavericks but were outscored 62-38 in the paint and sank just 11 of 18 from the free throw line.
P.J. Washington hit a huge 3 during Dallas’ late deciding run and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Irving effectively sealed the win with a pair of free throws with seven seconds left.
Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander unanimously named to All-NBA first team
League MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder were both unanimous selections to the All-NBA first team.
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Boston Celtics guard Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee Bucks were also named to the first team, which was revealed Wednesday.
Jokic, who has won three of the last four MVP awards, and Gilgeous-Alexander were both listed on all 99 ballots.
Doncic fell one vote shy of joining them, while Antetokounmpo received 88 first-place votes and Tatum garnered 65.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Los Angeles Lakers centre Anthony Davis were named to the second team.
The third team was made up of Lakers forward LeBron James, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Suns guard Devin Booker.
This is the 20th consecutive season James has been named to an All-NBA team since being included on the second team in his second season.
At 39 years old, he became the oldest All-NBA player in league history. He was also the youngest All-NBA selection as a 20-year-old back in 2004-05.
Jokic, who won the 2023-24 MVP award in a runaway with 79 of a possible 99 first-place votes, was named to the All-NBA first team for the fourth time to go with a pair of inclusions on the second team.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished second in MVP voting, was named to the first team for the second straight season.
Doncic made the first team for the fifth year in a row, while Tatum is on it for the third consecutive season.
Antetokounmpo has been on the first team each of the last six seasons after being on the second team the previous two years.
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