The Dallas Mavericks are heading back to the NBA Finals. The Mavericks took out Minnesota in five games to get to their third NBA Finals. It’s the third Finals trip in Dallas’ history and the first since 2011. The Mavericks won the franchise’s only NBA championship with current coach Jason Kidd playing point guard. They routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-103 at the Target Center. Dallas dominated the Wolves from the start of the game. Luka Doncic set the tone by scoring 12 points in the first few minutes of the game. Doncic, who earned Magic Johnson Western Conference finals MVP, had his highest-scoring outing of this postseason with 36 points. Doncic and Irving each finished with 30 points for the fourth time during the Mavericks’ playoff run.

The only other duo to accomplish that more often during a single postseason was the Los Angeles Lakers’ Hall of Fame tandem of Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Doncic and Irving also joined Baylor and West as the only duos to ever have three dual 30-point outings in the same series. Dallas’ stars became the first duo to each score at least 35 points in a conference finals game since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in 2001. Dallas had a 29-point halftime lead, the largest at the break by a team that had a chance to clinch a Finals trip in NBA history. The Dallas Mavericks will meet the Boston Celtics starting on Thursday, June 6^th. Boston advanced to the NBA Finals after sweeping the Indiana Pacers a few days ago.

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