After suffering three losses on a trot, the Timberwolves defeated the Mavs to avoid a WCF sweep by a hair’s breadth. The Mavs’ duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic shot 33% from the floor and Anthony Edwards and Co. took full advantage of the slump. On ‘UNDISPUTED’, Skip Bayless relayed that the Mavericks didn’t showcase similar energy as the previous games, which left the door ajar for the desperate Wolves.
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While previewing the Game 4 battle, Bayless had predicted that the Mavs would be ‘desperate’ to close out the Wolves to earn an elongated rest before the Finals and make sure their Centre Dereck Lively II and Luka Doncic are healthy for the championship round.
However, against his expectations, they were flat-footed. The 72-year-old noticed that Doncic wasn’t exerting much effort on the defensive end. Thus, Edwards sniffed a golden chance and capitalized upon it to take the series back to his home floor.
“Luka, especially on the defensive end, was just resting on every possession. He was playing no defence. Kyrie played a little but Luka played, and Ant-Man smelled that right away,” Skip Bayless told Keyshawn Johnson and Paul Pierce.
I thought Dallas would play desperate to get this thing over with. Ant-Man hurt them with his energy and aggression. https://t.co/V8jBTWeSrs
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 29, 2024
The FS1 analyst also gave props to Karl-Anthony Towns for complimenting Edwards’ top-notch efforts. After shooting 3 of 22 from the three-point line in the previous three tussles, he knocked four out of five treys and was a force in the paint. Like Bayless, his co-host Paul Pierce also hailed the Wolves duo for finally outplaying the Mavs’ electric backcourt combo.
KAT-ANT finally outduel Kai-Doncic
Before the game, Pierce had pointed out that the duo of Edward and Towns needed to outperform Doncic and Irving to get close to a victory. In Game 4 while Kai and his backcourt mate combined for 44 points, the Wolves duo accounted for 55 points.
Since the Mavs were without Dereck Lively II, both KAT and Ant-Man had an easier time generating their offense. Thus, The Truth appreciated the Wolves’ stars for finally doing better than the Mavs’ high-scoring guard combo.
Despite this magnificent performance, Pierce predicted that Doncic would rise to the occasion and close the book on the Wolves in Game 5. While the 2008 champion is right about the Mavs’ overwhelming advantage in the series, they’d rue to miss out on a series sweep.
Doncic can aggravate his injury as the series has expanded. Had the Mavs sealed the deal in Game 4, he’d have enjoyed an extended recovery time. While the Celtics will be fresher than them in the Finals and potentially get Kristaps Porzingis back for the championship round, first, the Mavs need to close out the Wolves who would be much more confident after the win.
