The Dallas team makes it to the NBA Finals without Nowitzki's presence for the first time.
Dallas Mavericks have made it to the NBA Finals for the first time since their victory in 2011 by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1 in the series. Fans are thrilled to witness Luka Doncic and his teammates' exceptional performances again.
For the third time in the Dallas Mavericks' history, they've advanced to the NBA Finals. They will compete against the Boston Celtics in the final series. Last night (local time), Dallas beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-103 (69-40) and officially secured the Western Conference final series with a 4-1 victory.
Dallas' star players Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving led the team to dominate the series, particularly in the first half. Doncic and Irving scored 44 points before halftime, surpassing the Timberwolves' total. They ended the game with 36 points each. The lead was also significant in the third quarter. Afterward, Dallas secured the win. "My mindset was: We have to establish the tone," said Doncic. The Slovenian player made a remarkable impact on the game, even earning praise from Timberwolves coach Chris Finch.
Maxi Kleber scored three points in approximately nine minutes. Just like Doncic, it's his first NBA Finals appearance for the 32-year-old from Würzburg. Dallas has only been in the Finals twice before, both during the Dirk Nowitzki era. In 2006, they lost to the Miami Heat, and in 2011, they avenged the loss with Jason Kidd as the team's playmaker. Nowitzki, who frequently attends Mavericks games, congratulated the team on entering the Finals via a brief and clear tweet: "Finals!!! Let's go!"
The first game of the Finals will take place at 2:30 a.m. German time next Friday in Boston. The Celtics, who won the Eastern Conference final 4-0 against the Indiana Pacers, were the top team in the regular season.
