🏀💥 Doncic and Irving Unite for a Dominant 69-Point Performance, Propelling Mavs to Victory Against Timberwolves! #Doncic #Irving

Following a one-game absence due to swelling in his right ankle, Luka Doncic returned to the Dallas Mavericks lineup and contributed to the team’s 115-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night. The Mavs increased their record to 22-15 after 37 games with the win, while the Wolves fell to 25-10.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving Combine for 69 Points as Dallas Mavericks Stun Minnesota Timberwolves with Gutsy Win - BVM Sports

Throughout the game, Doncic and Kyrie Irving established the Mavs’ tone. The two defending All-Stars from Dallas scored 69 points apiece. With 35 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks, Irving led Dallas in scoring. Doncic finished with 34 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists, just one point behind Irving.

Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves

“It was a good test for us, playing against one of the hottest teams in the league,” Irving said. “Their record speaks for itself. We were dialed in from the beginning, and it feels good when you can kind of go blow for blow with one of the best teams in the league. These are the types of games you want to be a part of. In the regular season, it’s not too often you get to go against some of the best of the best in the league. It was a good effort for us.”

May be an image of 2 people, people playing basketball and text that says "NBA UPDATES chime chime DALLDS DALLAS KYRIE IRVING LUKA DONCIC vs MIN: 35 PTS 34 PTS 8 REB 8 AST 5 AST 6 REB 3 STL 5 3PM 14/27 FG 12/26 FG MAVERICKS BEAT TIMBERWOLVES. 115-108"

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The regularly used lineups of both sides were noticeably different in size with Dereck Lively II out. Minnesota takes pleasure in maintaining its size, frequently having two players on the floor at all times—Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, or Naz Reid. Dwight Powell got things going for Dallas, starting with Josh Green and Derrick Jones Jr.

“When teams go small, we’re pretty committed to staying big and working our way through it,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “For us, the four has been able to guard most nights this year. When that happens, we’ll be able to survive that.”

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Whether Powell was the five or the team used a small ball group, featuring Grant Williams in that capacity, the Mavs were significantly outscored on the boards, with Gobert setting the tone with four of the Timberwolves’ eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter. Dallas led 30-29 at the half thanks to a combined 18 points from Doncic (11 points) and Irving (seven points).

“It’s the mindset every night. That’s one of the pros of being big. You can really impact and hurt teams on the glass,” Gobert said. “I feel like when they went small in the first half, we kind of took them away from that by just crashing the glass and drawing fouls and attacking the paint. Like I said, when we are patient offensively, when we move the ball and make second motions, it puts me and the other guys in a position to get offensive rebounds.”

Midway through the quarter, Irving checked back, and the Mavs used Doncic in a Horns set on the elbow to get him a touch, keeping the Timberwolves’ paint defense vulnerable even without Gobert. As a result, Doncic received the free throw line but missed both of his shots. Williams was still at the five when Gobert came back, and after Doncic had drawn two defenders on a drive, he nailed a pick-and-pop shot.