Luka Dončić and Rudy GobertJordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images
MINNEAPOLIS — Luka Dončić Dallas Mavericks were down double digits for most of the second quarter and much of the third in Friday’s Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After winning Game 1, the Mavs could’ve packed it up and started thinking about the trip home. They could’ve justified a lackadaisical effort by saying the goal of splitting on the road had been accomplished.
But they didn’t fold. Dallas rallied. Luka scored 11 of his 32 in the third quarter. Kyrie Irving scored 13 of his 20 in the fourth. He missed two free throws with under two minutes to go, but that didn’t stop him from drilling the three that set up another legendary Luka moment.
That bucket put the Mavs within two, and the defense held Minnesota scoreless for the last 1:29 of the game.
When Luka got the ball with 0:12.1 to go, he quickly engineered a switch that put Rudy Gobert on him. He danced for a moment, clearly setting up his stepback three, but there was really nothing Gobert could do. Considering the matchup difficulty, he actually made a decent contest.
But it didn’t matter.
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LUKA THREE FOR THE WIN 😱 pic.twitter.com/HsbPRW96be
“The play was to get Luka the ball,” coach Jason Kidd told reporters after the game. “Let Luka do what Luka does in those moments.”
When you have an all-time talent, the Xs and Os can get remarkably simple. After the game, Luka said he told Dereck Lively II to just give him a ball screen.
“I just see what the defense gives me,” he said. “I didn’t expect they would switch. We were just going to play that pick-and-roll. I told D-Live come up, and we’ll just figure it out from there. That’s about