Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving each scored 33 points, and the Dallas Mavericks made all the crucial plays late to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-107 on Sunday night, taking a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

The Mavericks went on a 12-3 run to win their fifth consecutive playoff game after rookie center Dereck Lively II departed with a sprained neck after taking an unintentional hit to the back of the head from Karl-Anthony Towns’ knee.

No club in NBA playoff history has recovered from a 3-0 deficit. Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday night in Dallas.

P.J. Washington began the decisive run with a corner 3-pointer after Doncic passed to Irving, who then transferred the ball to Washington.

The co-stars took over from there.

Doncic sank a shot in the lane for a four-point lead, Irving enthralled the crowd with a falling-down jumper, and Doncic found Daniel Gafford for an alley-oop dunk for a 113-105 lead with 34 seconds left after Gafford blocked Mike Conley’s basket attempt on the opposite end.

Anthony Edwards led the Wolves with 26 points, but only four after Minnesota scored eight consecutive points to tie the game in the third quarter.

Towns scored 14 points but missed eight three-pointers, including one with 1:25 remaining.

Doncic, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds of Game 2 in Minnesota to put Dallas firmly in charge of the series, shot 10 of 20 and 5 of 11 from deep.

Irving made 12 of 20 shots and 3 of 6 from long range, bringing the Mavericks within one victory of their first trip to the NBA Finals since 2011, when they won the franchise’s sole championship.

In the second quarter, Lively endured the type of contact that is common on football fields, not far from Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, who were sitting courtside.

The Duke rookie remained on the court, cradling his head after it snapped forward due to an inadvertent incident. Lively remained down for several minutes before being assisted off the court and into the locker room, where he appeared bewildered.

Lively collapsed as Mike Conley drove for a failed basket, and Towns was seeking an offensive rebound when his knee collided with Lively’s head in the second quarter.

Dallas’ 20-year-old Lively and starting center Daniel Gafford contributed significantly to the team’s 2-0 lead. Lively is 12 for 12 from the field in the series, with three made in Game 3.