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The Dallas Mavericks stood ever so closely to a return trip to the NBA Finals, their first in 13 years, as they entered their Tuesday night contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves in need of just one more win to finish off the Western Conference Finals. Alas, it was not meant to be, as the Mavericks tripped up and suffered a 105-100 loss, with the Timberwolves making sure to extend the series and send it back to Target Center for Game 5.
It was another close game between the two teams, as there has been little separation between them through the course of the series. The Mavericks' execution in the clutch has been sublime through the first three games, but in Game 4, the Timberwolves fought back and came up with some huge shots of their own.
Nonetheless, the Mavericks are still in control of the series. Luka Doncic is one of the most unfazed road playoff performers of all time, so it's not like the Timberwolves crowd will do much to rattle him in Game 5. But the Mavs have to look back and reflect upon what went wrong in Game 4 so they don't feed the Timberwolves' hopes of pulling off the first-ever 3-0 comeback in NBA history.
Kyrie Irving suffers first closeout game loss
Kyrie Irving, for all his faults, has been the master of the closeout game. Throughout his career, whenever his team is in need of just one more win to seal the playoff series, he elevates his game and leads his teams to the promised land. Entering Tuesday, Irving was undefeated in closeout games; in this year's playoffs, Irving scored 30 and 22 against the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively, to help the Mavericks send those teams home.
Thus, in Game 4 against the Timberwolves, expectations were high for Irving. Irving has made plenty of big shots, and working in unison with Luka Doncic, he has been quite deadly in the clutch. In Game 3, Irving scored 33 points; in Game 2, Irving set the stage for Doncic's game-winner with a corner three of his own that cut the Timberwolves' lead to two.
Alas, in Game 4, Kyrie Irving was not at his best. He was making a few difficult shots, as he's wont to do, but overall, he struggled with his shot. He finished with a rough 6-18 shooting night, and he made just one of his six shot attempts from beyond the arc. He didn't look like his usually dangerous self, although credit goes to the Timberwolves for making an adjustment that made life difficult for Irving.
The Timberwolves, through the first three games of the series, have called upon Anthony Edwards to chase Irving around the perimeter. Now, that is a solid matchup for Minnesota on paper. Edwards, after all, was very good in his defensive work against Jamal Murray in the previous round. However, Edwards has run out of steam time and time again while chasing Irving, who is always involved in the action around the perimeter.
Edwards, in turn, defended Luka Doncic for most of the night. Edwards is speedier when chasing over screens, and Irving has a much faster first step than Doncic does, so the Timberwolves star was able to save a bit of gas on that end of the floor. Meanwhile, Jaden McDaniels took on the challenge of guarding Irving, which worked in Minnesota's favor. McDaniels is seven inches taller than Irving, so his length is extremely bothersome for the Mavericks star, forcing Irving to hoist up shots from even more difficult angles.
Kyrie Irving is an exceptional player, but even the best players have their fair share off of nights. Game 4 was one of them for Irving. He is too talented not to bounce back in Game 5, especially when he shares the same road warrior mentality that Doncic has in spades.
Should the Mavericks have rolled with Jaden Hardy's hot hand?
In the end, the Mavericks did not have a good enough shooting night, at least compared to the Timberwolves. Dallas was unable to make big shots when it mattered, while the Timberwolves came alive in the clutch, thanks in large part to Karl-Anthony Towns catching fire with the two teams trading blows in the fourth quarter.
Perhaps it would have helped the Mavericks if they rolled with the hot hand late in the game. In particular, Jaden Hardy, the unheralded second-year guard, was inflicting some damage in the third quarter with one of the Mavs' stars resting. Hardy was a spark plug, as he hit three triples and he also had a few strong drives towards the hoop, including an emphatic dunk and a beautiful layup that had him talking some smack towards the Timberwolves.
It's understandable why Jason Kidd was hesitant to keep Hardy out on the floor late in the game. Keeping Hardy on the court means having one of PJ Washington or Derrick Jones Jr. on the bench, and those two have been so good for the Mavericks throughout the playoffs that they have earned the right to be on the court during the most crucial moments of a game. A Hardy-Doncic-Irving lineup sacrifices too much size and defense.
However, Hardy's made baskets felt like gut punches, and they certainly could have used another capable shot-creator/shot-maker as the Mavericks' shooters went cold towards the end of the game. Could putting in the 21-year old guard at such a crucial juncture have worked in their favor?
Dereck Lively II's presence was sorely missed
The Mavericks relinquished a huge lead in Game 3 thanks in large part to the absence of Dereck Lively II, the athletic big man who had to exit the game early after suffering an inadvertent blow to the head from Karl-Anthony Towns. Lively has been quite the game-changing presence for the Mavs on both ends of the floor; he is an offensive rebounding monster, an intimidating rim protector, and a dynamic lob threat.
Lively's presence means that the Mavs have two rim-protecting lob threats on the court at all times, splitting time with Daniel Gafford as the team's paint patrollers. Without Lively, the Mavericks had to call upon Dwight Powell to play some crucial minutes; Powell might be trying his best at all times, but his rim protection doesn't even come close to Lively's or Gafford's, and his mobility isn't what it used to be.
One of the saving graces for the Mavericks in Game 4 was that Maxi Kleber was able to return from the shoulder injury he sustained in Round 1 against the Clippers. Kleber has had his moments against a Rudy Gobert-led team. No Mavs fan would ever forget when he rained eight threes against Gobert's Utah Jazz back in the 2022 NBA playoffs. However, Kleber was clearly far from 100 percent.
As said in the TNT broadcast, Kleber was a true game-time decision, and in the middle of Game 4, he was still gathering his bearings, as he wasn't yet fully comfortable in letting it fly from beyond the arc. When Kleber did let it fly, his shooting mechanics did not look very smooth; in fact, it seemed like he had a noticeable hitch in his jumper. He missed both of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Kleber also lacks the intimidation factor that Lively brings, and at age 32, Kleber does not move as fast as he used to. The Timberwolves made the Mavericks pay on some drop coverages, with Anthony Edwards coming to life with a few pull-up jumpers.
Having Dereck Lively II back for Game 5 would go a long way towards making sure that the Timberwolves don't get any ideas of a historic comeback.
