Field Level Media – That one was about pride. The next three are about history. The Minnesota Timberwolves stayed alive in the Western Conference finals Tuesday night, riding Anthony Edwards\u2019 game-high 29 points and Karl-Anthony Towns\u2019 recalibrated long-range shooting form to a 105-100 victory over the host Dallas Mavericks in Game 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With their first win in the best-of-seven series, the Timberwolves earned a Game 5 at home on Thursday night, hoping to blaze a trail to become the first team in NBA history to rally and advance after trailing 3-0 in a playoff series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Winning the series wasn\u2019t on the team\u2019s radar in Game 4, Edwards insisted afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe just wanted to get one game and extend the series,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve never been swept in my career. I didn\u2019t want to get swept. Not on their home court, hearing their fans talk trash all day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luka Doncic posted a 28-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double for the fifth-seeded Mavericks, who won the first two games of the series in a previous trip to Minneapolis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Minnesota led by 12 early on, the teams battled on even terms for the first 18-plus minutes of the second half, with Towns\u2019 3-pointer with 5:41 remaining giving the Timberwolves a 92-90 lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The visitors never trailed again, thanks in large part to Towns, whose 3-pointer on Minnesota\u2019s next possession made it a five-point game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dallas\u2019 best chance to draw even down the stretch came when Doncic misfired on a 3-pointer with the hosts trailing 95-92 with 3:18 to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Towns connected again from beyond the arc with 2:54 to go, and Edwards followed with a bank shot in the lane 67 seconds later, the Timberwolves had broken things open at 100-92.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat was on me,\u201d Doncic said. \u201c(I) didn\u2019t give enough energy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A desperation 3-pointer by Doncic as he was being fouled with 13.2 seconds left kept the Mavericks alive at 103-100, but Doncic missed the subsequent free throw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a timeout, Naz Reid got behind the Dallas defense for a game-clinching layup with 11.3 seconds remaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019d never lost three in a row until earlier in the playoffs. We\u2019ve never lost four in a row,\u201d Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. \u201cThe guys responded. Fun team to coach because they always believe they can win, no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Timberwolves had been outscored 10-3, 6-0 and 14-3, respectively, at the end of the first three games en route to three-, one- and nine-point losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are now 3-0 in potential elimination games this postseason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Edwards\u2019 personal series-high point total came as part of a near-triple-double. He also found time for a team-high-tying 10 rebounds and a team-best nine assists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After missing 19 of his 22 3-point attempts in the first three games of the series, Towns buried 4 of 5 before fouling out with 25 points. He made 9 of 13 shots overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rudy Gobert equaled Edwards\u2019 10 rebounds while also completing a double-double with 13 points for third-seeded Minnesota, while Mike Conley had 14 points and Jaden McDaniels chipped in 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kyrie Irving was held to 16 points on 6-for-18 shooting, while Jaden Hardy had 13 points, Daniel Gafford supplied 12 to complement eight rebounds and three blocks and P.J. Washington added 10 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Things were tied at 49 at the break, with Edwards and Doncic each leading their respective teams with 17 points. Minnesota was up 78-73 heading into the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey won one game,\u201d Doncic said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to focus on the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Field Level Media – That one was about pride. The next three are about history. The Minnesota Timberwolves stayed alive in the Western Conference finals Tuesday night, riding Anthony Edwards\u2019 game-high 29 points and Karl-Anthony Towns\u2019 recalibrated long-range shooting form to a 105-100 victory over the host Dallas Mavericks in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":282903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-282902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=282902"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282904,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282902\/revisions\/282904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/282903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=282902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=282902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=282902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}