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Five thoughts: Mavericks one win from NBA Finals after hard-fought Game 3 win over Wolves

Dallas will try for the sweep vs. Minnesota on Tuesday in Game 4 at American Airlines Center.

Here are five thoughts from the Mavericks’ 116-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Sunday night’s Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, putting them one win away from their third NBA Finals appearance.

The last time the Mavericks faced the Wolves in the playoffs was during the 2001-02 season, when Dallas swept Minnesota in a three-game first-round series.

History is one step closer to repeating itself with the Mavericks one win away from another sweep of the Timberwolves. If Dallas can clinch a trip to the NBA Finals on Tuesday, it would be the third sweep in franchise history, matching its number of appearances in the NBA Finals.

Drama in the fourth

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Thousands of fans stood on their feet for the latter half of the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 104, PJ Washington nailed a corner 3 with 3:38 left to give the Mavericks a slim 3-point lead. It’s a shot he’s been known to knock down throughout the playoffs.

Luka Doncic nailed a fadeaway shot while falling to give the Mavs a 109-105 lead. Jason Kidd helped Doncic up to his feet as a last-ditch effort to get the MVP candidate back on defense. Kyrie Irving gave the Mavs even more cushion with a fading 3-pointer with 1:07 left.

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The dagger occurred with 34.8 seconds left after Doncic threw a lob to Daniel Gafford, who threw down a one-handed slam over Rudy Gobert.

The Doncic-Irving show

We’ve seen this before. The pairing of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving has been in near-perfect harmony throughout the Western Conference finals, and Sunday was no different, with each scoring 33 points.

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Irving and Doncic are the first starting backcourt in the last 50 years to have at least 60 points in the same postseason game three times, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Doncic was a constant source of offense throughout the game, but Irving’s offensive wizardry came in handy during the fourth quarter. He scored about a third of his points in the final 12 minutes of the game, including his signature left-handed floater with 4:34 left to tie the game at 104.

Edwards wakes up

After attempting just 33 shots through Games 1 and 2 without much aggression, Anthony Edwards vowed that he would attack the basket more in Game 3. The Timberwolves superstar returned to form Sunday, looking for his shot nearly every time he touched the ball and finishing with 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on 11-of-24 shooting, just short of a triple-double.

A sequence in the third quarter epitomized Edwards’ assertiveness throughout the game. He hit the detonate button as he launched himself into the air for a dunk over Daniel Gafford for a signature one-handed slam. On the Wolves’ next possession, Edwards danced with his dribble until he rose for a midrange pull-up jumper, which went directly into the net. He found success yet again for a third consecutive trip, which tied the game at 77.

However, his heroics didn’t translate into a win for the Wolves, who fell into an 0-3 hole.

Lively’s streak continues, but cut short due to injury

With 8:35 left in the second quarter, Karl-Anthony Towns jumped up for a rebound and inadvertently kneed Dereck Lively II in the back of the head. Lively remained on the floor holding his head for several minutes, and the entire Mavs bench emptied to support him as he was helped to his feet and eventually to the locker room.

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He was initially questionable to return due to a neck sprain, then ruled out with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Coming into the game, Lively hadn’t missed a field goal in the Western Conference finals, converting on his last 10 shots through Games 1 and 2. Most of them were dunks, but it’s an impressive display of consistency for the rookie center.

Lively’s success at the rim continued Sunday. He made his first three attempts of the game, including a statement dunk over Rudy Gobert. He had two more dunks shortly after his poster dunk on the Defensive Player of the Year, which were assisted by Luka Doncic.

Though Lively’s field goal streak is intact, his health instantly becomes the top priority.

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Abundance of free throws

At the end of Game 2, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd ended his postgame speech by urging his team to be better at the free-throw line. Dallas converted on only 15 of 22 attempts from the stripe Friday night, including three rare misses by Irving.

The Mavericks improved tremendously Sunday with a clip of 26-of-31 from the stripe. Doncic led the charge by making eight of his 10 freebies. PJ Washington made all four of his attempts. Irving made 6 of 8. Dallas had 17 free-throw attempts in the third quarter, which helped keep the game close while Edwards led the Wolves back into the game.

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