The Timberwolves and Mavericks play tonight in Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference finals, with Dallas leading the series 3-0. Staff writer Chris Hine is reporting live from the American Airlines Arena.
Game view, with live statistics and matchup information.
10:11 p.m.: Wolves escape Dallas after tense fourth quarter
DALLAS – Game four of the Western Conference finals had a similar story to the first three: The Wolves had a lead in the fourth quarter as the game entered the final minutes. This time, the Wolves were able to write a different ending and avoid elimination with a 105-100 victory over the Mavericks to continue the season.
Game 5 will return to Target Center on Thursday with Dallas winning 3-1.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards played their best games of the series and were able to make enough shots in the fourth quarter for the Wolves to survive and extend the series a little further.
Edwards finished with 29 points, including multiple key baskets in the final minutes, while Towns had an efficient night with 25 points on 9 of 13 before fouling out with 1 minute, 38 seconds left.
With the Wolves ahead 100-97, Edwards hit a long jumper from the right wing to give them a five-point lead with 39.7 seconds remaining that gave them enough of a cushion in the final moments.
Towns and Edwards went 20 of 38 combined, and outdueled Luke Doncic (28 points) and Kyrie Irving (16 points), who were 13 of 39.
At the 8:42 mark of the fourth quarter, both Towns and Gobert committed five fouls. The Wolves opted to go with both when the Mavericks tied the score at 83. That proved beneficial as Towns buried a pair of three-pointers to give the Wolves a 95-90 lead with 5:04 left.
Gobert went to the foul line to put the Wolves up by seven, but missed both free throws. At the other end, the Wolves couldn’t corral a rebound and that led to a Daniel Gafford dunk. The Wolves’ next possession featured a lot of dribbles from Edwards, but he hit Towns for another three that put the Wolves up six with 2:54 left.
Towns fouled out with 1:38 left when he fouled Doncic while attempting a 3-pointer, and Doncic made all three free throws to cut the Wolves’ lead to 100-95. But the Wolves wouldn’t give up a late lead that night.
9:27 p.m.: Towns has five fouls, but the Wolves lead by five entering the fourth quarter
In every round of the playoffs, Anthony Edwards praised Karl-Anthony Towns when Towns stayed out of foul trouble, because the Wolves needed Towns to advance that far in the postseason.
But in Game 4, foul trouble has plagued Towns and even Edwards himself a bit.
Towns committed five fouls in 22 minutes as the Wolves led the Mavericks 78-73 late in the third. Towns was offensive before his departure with 15 points and made 6 of 7 shots.
Edwards committed four fouls and the Wolves used their challenge unsuccessfully trying to nullify Edwards’ fourth foul on Daniel Gafford. Then, Rudy Gobert also scored his fourth with just over two minutes left in the quarter.
With Dallas ahead 59-56, Gobert and Jones tangled on a screen, and the two bumped chests and exchanged words after the play. Both received technical fouls.
Towns committed an offensive foul on the No. 4 with 7:09 left in the quarter, but the Wolves elected to leave him in the game. Towns responded with six points on an 8-0 Wolves run that gave them a 66-62 lead before a timeout with 5:39 left.
But it wasn’t long before foul No. 5 also came. Towns elbowed Dallas forward PJ Washington while faking a jump shot at the 4:59 mark. Wolves coach Chris Finch also received a technical arguing the decision.
The Mavericks turned 13 Wolves turnovers into 28 points. The Wolves largely held off Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving for three; they were a combined 9-for-27.
8:39 p.m.: Timberwolves pressured into turnovers and fouls, but still tied at the half
Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert each committed three fouls in the first half, and the Wolves blew a 12-point lead to head into the locker room tied 49-49.
The Wolves defense has limited Dallas to just 37% shooting, but the Mavericks are 8 of 19 from the three-point line, which helped them close out the game against a Wolves team that shot 47%. but he only hit four triples.
Eight Wolves turnovers led to 18 Mavs points.
Edwards finished with 17 points in the half, but the Wolves nearly blew a 30-20 lead in the opening minutes of the quarter. They regrouped to lead 42-34 thanks to 13 points from Mike Conley in the first half, but a pair of 3-pointers from Derrick Jones led an 8-0 Dallas run to tie the score at 42.
The Wolves had to play the final 2:40 without Towns, Gobert and Edwards. The score was tied 45-45 at that point and remained that way for the rest of the half, as the Wolves prevented Dallas from taking advantage of those minutes.
Doncic has 17 points on 4-of-13 shooting, but he has three 3-pointers and was 6-of-6 from the free throw line. The Wolves had a 22-10 paint point advantage.
8:03 p.m.: Anthony Edwards powers Wolves to first-quarter lead
With 14 points from Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves lead the Mavericks 27-20 after the first quarter.
To start the night, the Wolves switched up their initial defensive matchups, as Edwards had Luka Doncic and Jaden McDaniels had Kyrie Irving. Doncic started hot with eight early points as the Mavericks and Wolves were tied 10-10 midway through the quarter.
But after Dwight Powell replaced Daniel Gafford, during the time the injured Dereck Lively would normally be in the game, the Wolves successfully attacked the rim. Minnesota went on a 10-0 run to take a 20-10 lead with 2 minutes, 50 seconds left. Mike Conley had three steals in the quarter.
Edwards had success scoring from all levels, as he hit a three-pointer from mid-range and got to the rim. He attempted eight free throws in the quarter, although he missed three.
Dallas shot 6 of 29 from the field and no player outside of Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving made a field goal in the first quarter until the 1:29 mark.
The Wolves were 10 of 16, but had five turnovers, including a bad one by Edwards with seconds left that allowed the Mavs to finish the quarter on an 8-3 run.
5:25 p.m.: KAT Shooting Talk
As Karl-Anthony Towns spoke to the media after the Timberwolves’ shootaround Tuesday morning, Anthony Edwards walked through the crowd and yelled, “KAT is going to hit eight 3-pointers tonight, for everyone who asked.”
“That’s a prediction,” Towns said. “That would be lovely.”
If the Wolves are going to extend the series against Dallas, they need Towns to shake off his issues in this series and get back to the player who helped them win the series against the Nuggets.
Towns is 15-for-54 so far in the series and is 3-for-22 from three-point range. Towns said he wasn’t trying to do anything out of the ordinary to advance Game 4.
“I know I put in the effort, so I’m confident to go out there, shoot the ball and the plan, as always, is to see it go through the net,” Towns said.
As for the team’s overall mindset heading into elimination, Towns said the team hasn’t lost faith that they could return to the series, especially considering they faced elimination against Denver and came back to win the series.
“I know when that series got to 3-2 I heard a lot of murmuring, not outside but just people in general around town or around us. And the series was over for a lot of people. But everyone in our locker room believes. So while everyone in the locker room believes, everything is possible with us.
Wolves coach Chris Finch has confidence in Towns: “I told him, ‘The past has no bearing on the future. Trust your talent. Stay confident…shots will fall.'”
16:16: Injury report
For Dallas, Dereck Lively II is likely out after suffering a neck sprain in Game 3, but the Mavericks could get additional reinforcement on their front line in Maxi Kleber, who could return from a shoulder injury for Game 4 Kleber was upgraded to questionable ahead of Game 4, while Lively was listed as doubtful.
If the Wolves can force Game 5, it would be Thursday night at Target Center.
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