By Rashad Miller, The Uncool Urban
The Minnesota Timberwolves avoided the sweep as they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, 105-100. Minnesota’s stars shined bright as guard Anthony Edwards (29) and forward Karl-Anthony Towns (25) scored a total 54 points. Despite factors like foul trouble and missing free throws. Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving would praise Towns after the game saying that, “despite the criticism that he’s received, the unfair criticism at times… he’s a great player. I respect him, I know my peers respect him, and my teammates respect him… I expected him to come out with the aggression to put his team in a great position to win the ballgame”.
Minnesota head coach Chris Finch said that he knew the forward out of Kentucky struggles on the court “were not gonna last forever”, adding that Towns “played smart, played under control, rebounded really well, executed defensively” and he was “proud” of the way he played even when Towns fouled out of the game. “He’s been a huge part of every series up until then and we knew we had to get him into this series and [Game 4] was a great step for that”.
The win was a confidence boost for the Timberwolves, but someone who never lacks confidence was Anthony Edwards who talked about the series’ return to Dallas. ‘Ant-Man’ said that he would give Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons a pair of his popular signature shoe, the Adidas AE1 upon his return.
For the Mavs, the backcourt duo of Irving and Dončić took full responsibility for Tuesday night’s loss. Luka Dončić shot 7-21 including going 4-11 from the perimeter, but still managed to get a triple double with 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists to go with his sole steal. Even with his always impressive stat line, the Slovenian superstar still felt “that game is on [him]” and that he “just didn’t give enough energy”.
Kyrie Irving, who had 16 points and four assists, said that it was “uncharacteristic” for the Mavericks to only have 20 points to start the game while “giving up 27” to the Timberwolves in the first quarter. Irving, like Dončić, took some of the heat, stating “if I’m setting the example like that then other guys are gonna follow suit unfortunately at times”, while taking full accountability for Dallas’ “lackadaisical play”. Despite the end result of Game 4, the guard from West Orange, New Jersey reminded the media that Dallas has “a consistent fight” about them, adding that he always feels like they are in “the best position to win”. Irving concluded by saying the team “just have to consistently do the little things right… [and] now we just have to deal with this loss and get ready for Minnesota.”
The Mavericks have another chance to end the series and win the Western Conference title on Thursday night when they return to Minneapolis for Game 5 at Target Center. The game will be broadcasted on TNT at 7:30pm/cst.
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