Deja vu as Doncic drills Dagger 3 in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS — After his 32-foot step-back dagger went through the net, Luka Doncic looked out into the crowd at Target Center and shouted an unholy reminder to no one in particular.

“That's what I'm doing,” Doncic roared after launching a shot from near the Minnesota Timberwolves' half-court logo. The Dallas Mavericks' lead stretched to eight points with 1:04 left in their 120-114 win on Tuesday. the night

It was certainly a familiar sight. Doncic's clutch effort highlighted the Mavs' five-game victory over the Timberwolves in last season's Western Conference Finals.

“We've seen this movie before,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “He loves the opportunity to win games. He's not afraid, and he steps up and makes big shots.”

Call it a sequel. The most memorable moment of the Mavs' run to the NBA Finals last spring happened on the same end of Target Center Court, when Doncic danced with his dribble before drilling a Game 2-winning step-back 3-pointer over a defensive quad. Player of the year Rudy Gobert.

Doncic celebrated that shot by loudly informing Gobert that the big man couldn't guard him, peppering a few bursts with his trash talk, though he joked after speaking in Slovenian.

Doncic took the stab at Timberwolves guard Nikhil Alexander-Walker and took the moment to respond to a fan base that had expressed hard feelings for him throughout the game.

“I've heard a lot. They really like me here,” Doncic said dryly after his 27-point, 8-rebound, 9-assist performance. “You know, last year was fun. It was a big moment in my career and my life, so it was fun to come back here.”

In the West Finals, Dallas became the first team in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98) to take a 3-0 series lead with five minutes left in each fourth quarter, according to ESPN Research. That game gave the Mavs a painful reminder of their finishing power to the Timberwolves in the first meeting between these teams this season.

As has been the case in the playoffs, Kyrie Irving co-starred with Doncic down the stretch. The Wolves didn't lead down the stretch this time, but Minnesota whittled a Mavs lead that was 11 points into the final four minutes of the fourth quarter entering the one-possession margin.

The Mavs answered with a bucket each time: a driving layup by Irving, an alley-oop from Doncic to PJ Washington, an Irving 3 off the dribble and a Doncic finger roll after attacking Gobert on a closeout.

The Mavs scored 21 points in the final 7:15 as Doncic and Irving combined for 16 runs.

“It's just time to win,” said Irving, who scored 25 of his team-high 35 points in the second half. “I knew we had to create some separation in the game to continue riding on that confidence, and it worked well for us. But we know that [Minnesota] It's going to be a little different every time we play. They are going to make a little bit of adjustment here and there. And down the line, we're going to see them more often.”

Another similarity to last season's West Finals: Doncic hurt his right knee. He exited with 70 seconds left in the second quarter after Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels inadvertently hit him from behind on a drive.

Doncic returned at the beginning of the second half. His knee, which was sprained for most of the playoffs, was wrapped. He tested it with a series of jogs, skips, hops and defensive slides in the final few minutes of halftime.

It wasn't until the fourth quarter, when Doncic led all scorers with 11 points, that he hit a groove. He has had a slow start to the season after missing all of training camp and the preseason with a left calf injury. He is shooting just 36.4% from the field and 26.8% from 3-point range for the 3-1 Mavs.

Doncic was 10 of 27 from the field and missed his first seven 3s Tuesday night, a drought he ended with his 32-foot dagger.

“I don't know how I can make those shots and not normal shots,” Doncic said. “I don't know how I do it. At the end of the day, I just have to shake off the rust. I'll be back. I haven't played the whole preseason, so I need some time. But the important thing is that we got the win.”