2024 NBA Playoffs Day 39 Recap: Dallas advances to the NBA Finals

Anthony Valmoria
May 31 2024

The Dallas Mavericks did not fool around and finished the business in the Western Conference Finals by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves on their home floor in Game 5 on Day 39 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs on Thursday night. 

The Mavericks have made it to the NBA Finals once again for the first time in 13 years since winning the championship in 2011. Led by charismatic star Luka Doncic, they defeat the upstart Timberwolves with their young superstar Anthony Edwards.

Doncic was red hot to start the game, scoring 22 points in the 1st quarter to outscore the entire Timberwolves by himself. The Mavs essentially ended the game at halftime, building a 29-point lead, and never looked back since.

It was coming off a tough loss at home in Dallas in Game 4 when the Mavericks had a chance to sweep the series. However, Karl-Anthony Towns and Edwards had different plans to extend the series to one more game back home in Minnesota.

There was some renewed sense of hope coming into Game 5 and after beating the defending champs, the Denver Nuggets on their home floor in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals, the Wolves believed they could also be the first team out of the 155 who tried in history to overcome a 0-3 series deficit.

However, Doncic immediately shut that door and got the job done to avoid giving the Wolves any momentum. He now advances to his first-ever NBA Finals appearance at 25 years old. Doncic was also a finalist for this year’s MVP award.

Doncic and Dallas will face the mighty Boston Celtics who swept the Indiana Pacers two days earlier. It will be an interesting matchup to see considering the past connections between players. Kristaps Porizingis, a former teammate of Doncic, is now with the Celtics while Kyrie Irving, a former Celtic, is now a teammate of Doncic.

The 2024 NBA Finals will start a week from now, June 6 with Game 1 to be played at the Boston Garden.

Check out our recap here: