The NBA’s Christmas Day slate features several marquee matchups, but the Western Conference Finals rematch between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves may be the most anticipated contest of the holiday. Malika Andrews asked Mavericks star Luka Doncic during an interview yesterday what his takeaways were from the hard-fought series victory last season against the Wolves, which led to his first career Finals appearance.
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The 25-year-old was appreciative of the experience, reminiscing on the journey to the franchise’s first title round since 2011.
“Just knowing how hard it is to get to the Finals, lot of games, lot of hard games,” Doncic said, “But it was a fun experience. Obviously, we didn’t win the Finals, but it was very hard and fun to get there. We could take that as motivation for this year.”
The Mavericks were always expected to return to the playoffs after narrowly missing the postseason in 2022-23, but the revamped roster proceeded to surpass even the most optimistic expectations. Dallas surprisingly dismantled two expected postseason contenders in the Clippers and the Thunder before taking care of the Wolves.
However, Andrews warned Luka about the new-look Wolves, who are much different than last season’s Conference Finalists. The Slovenian agreed and promised they’ll make the right adjustments for the Christmas day bout.
Luka Doncic has dominated on Christmas Day
Doncic and the Mavericks will be playing their fourth Christmas Day contest since the transcendent talent was drafted in 2018. The Slovenian star has proven his ability to step up on the holiday over a solid sample size. While last season’s 50-bomb was the pinnacle of his Christmas performances, Luka has yet to post a dud on the annual tradition.
The five-time All-Star posted 33 points against the Jazz in 2021 and a near 30-point triple double against the Lakers in 2022 before following up with “only” 29 points against the Nuggets in 2023. This Timberwolves team may be the best defensive unit Doncic has faced yet on Christmas, but a win would bring his record up to 3-1 on the holiday for his career.
