Timberwolves-Mavericks: 5 takeaways from Minnesota’s strong finish to Game 4

Michael C. WrightArchiveUpdated on May 29,2024 5:09 PM

29/05/2024

Anthony Edwards fills the box score and Karl-Anthony Towns scores 20 in the 2nd half to force the series back to Minnesota.

Dallas — As he walked into an interview after the game, Anthony Edwards noticed Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons standing in the hallway wearing a pair of Edwards AE1 signature Adidas sneakers.

The door shut behind Edwards, Edwards promised to return shortly.

“I told him I’ll bring him back some nice shoes for Game 6,” the player said.

We’ll see.

Edwards is expected to hand out the kicks to Dallas this weekend, following his team Minnesota to the 100-105 win on Tuesday over the Mavericks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. To be sure of a trip back for The Lone Star State, the Timberwolves must win to win a Game 5 victory Thursday at Target Center.

Minnesota is 3-1 down during the game.

“What am I supposed to say?” He asked. “[Am I supposed to claim that we’re going to be beaten in Game 5? Absolutely not, I’m not going to ever make that claim.”

Here are five lessons learned that Game 4 has taught us:

1. Edwards, Towns perform like stars

We’ve been hoping for a show similar to this since the start in the season. Edwards scored an all-time record-setting 29 points with 10 rebounds. He was one assist away from his first ever triple-double in career. Despite shooting just 28 percent from the field during the first three games in this series Towns made a record-breaking 9-for-13 and scored 25, which is a game-high..

Minnesota is 7-1 in playoffs if Towns has scored 18 points or more. He is 0-5 when he scores less than 18.

“We chatted yesterday,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “I just informed him that the past doesn’t matter to the future. Don’t be afraid of your talents. Keep your faith in it. Shoots are bound to fall. This is the way shooting works. You just have to wait until the odds turn to your advantage.”

They certainly changed their minds in a big manner.

Aiming for a more balanced shooting regimen that also included more attempts at the perimeter, Towns hit 2-for-3 in the opening half before slamming 7-of-10 in the fourth and third quarters. Towns’ varied strategy helped him land the ball to a handful of big threes in the final minutes of the game.

Finch employed an analogy from football when talking to Edwards regarding his duties for Game 4. He described Edwards with a tailback who required to rapidly explode through the holes in order to get to the second stage of Dallas Defense.

“Once you get to the second line of the defense, then they’re at your disposal,” Finch said to Edwards.

The 22-year-old smashed the ball with the same ferocity of the former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and the Timberwolves were the beneficiaries.

2. Timberwolves cool off Doncic, Irving

Credit to Minnesota in the case of Luka Doncic, as well as Kyrie Irving’s troubles.

The Timberwolves have assigned Edwards to guard Doncic as well as putting the defensively stalwart Jaden McDaniels to guard Irving.

The Mavericks superstar duo teamed up for 44 points while going 13-for-39 field shooting. The Slovenian had his ninth triple-double of the postseason (28 points 15 rebounds, 10 assists) to join Wilt Chamberlain for the ninth-highest total of all-time. Irving had 16 points. He shot 6 for 18 shooting.

“We’re in the NBA, man,” Irving declared. “No team will just sit back and let me and Luka free shots. If I take a look at how good our shot was, I think a couple of them could be improved. Some were not properly arranged. Some were taken in the door and then out.”

Edwards and Towns beat Doncic as well as Irving 54-44. In the initial three games in the series, the Dallas pair averaged 60.3 points, compared to 37 in the case of Edwards as well as Towns.

“[Edwards and McDaniels] did a good job of just being physical, understanding tendencies and not getting them on the free throw line,” Minnesota point guard Mike Conley said. “Those two guys were big for us in that matchup switch.”

3. Minnesota finally finishes

The Timberwolves were in Game 4’s fourth quarter each game in this series in a tie or ahead in the game by 5 or more points. They were 78-73 ahead in the 4th period during Game 4 and finally found the way to win.

In the first three games of the match, Minnesota generated an offensive rating of 114.3. In the final quarter in these games Minnesota’s Wolves’ offensive score fell down a cliff, dropping to 95.5.

The opponents scored 22 22 and 20 points during the fourth quarters of these games. The fourth game of the series, Minnesota scored 27 points which was which was led by Towns with 10 points. He also scored 3 of 4 shots from the deep in the final period.

“It came together for him,” Edwards declared. “He was extremely confident. He didn’t have any concerns about shots prior to the ones that he struck this evening. He was a great player and was a huge factor. The reason he was winning is because of him. we were able to win.”

Edwards laughed that he had plans for him to “beat him up on the bus” after he was kicked out with 1:38 left. However, Towns recorded 20 points of the 25 he scored in the 2nd quarter. Prior to the game 4, Towns hadn’t produced 10 points in any half of in this series.

4. Kleber returns; Lively II sits out

The Mavericks have ruled out Dereck Lively II for Game 4 due to a neck strain that he suffered during Game 3. The rookie couldn’t even turn his head as he walked to the American Airlines Center ahead of the game’s pre-game.

Lively’s absence paved the way to Dwight Powell, not to be forgotten Maxi Kleber, who was back on Tuesday, for the very first time in a while since dislocating his right shoulder during the first part of Dallas Game 6 victory in the opening round against. Los Angeles Clippers. LA Clippers.

Finch believed that Kleber’s return to Dallas could provide a new style for Dallas.

“That gives them a stretch lineup we haven’t seen all series,” he added.

Kleber played for 13 minutes with two scoring points. Dallas used a variety of tactics that allowed for open shots by Kleber. But, it was obvious Kleber wasn’t entirely comfortable with the shots.

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd thought KIeber “did great” in a limited amount of action.

Lively’s future return is still in doubt. The way the rookie appeared when he entered the arena on Tuesday did not inspire confidence for his return in Game 5.

“He’s a big piece to our defense and our offense,” Doncic told reporters.

Minnesota was aware of this and acted as such as per Conley.

5. Kidd compares past to present

Kidd was on the final Dallas team that won the championship. Therefore, he’s naturally biased when making comparisons between the 2011 team to the current squad.

“I’m gonna say the ’11 team was better for sure because I was on it,” he stated. “Dirk Nowitzki is my neighbor. I don’t want to tickoff] him.”

It’s fair enough.

The Hall of Fame point guard in 2011, the team was able to win, Dallas defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals, before defeating Miami Heat, 4-2 Miami Heat, 4-2, in the Finals to claim the only title of the team.

Kidd finds similarities between his team and the current group that has the potential to finish this conference finals series with a 4-1 score similar to the way his team finished it.

“This team probably has a little more talent, youth,” Kidd declared. “The older players from the ’11 team they knew what they needed to accomplish. They all mirrored the word team and also sacrifice. The team of 2011 sacrificed. There were a lot of players who may have felt their roles could have been different but were happy with their roles.”

Kidd was at the home of Nowitzki’s on Monday. He’s been in touch this week with his former teammates Jason Terry and Shawn Marion.

“They like the team, like what’s happening,” he said.

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Michael C. Wright is a senior writer at NBA.com. You can contact him via email here, browse his archives here, and follow his Twitter account on X.

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