DALLAS — Here the Minnesota Timberwolves were again, holding a small lead in the fourth quarter of these Western Conference finals, just like they had in each of the first three games against the Dallas Mavericks. The score was 92-90 with a little more than five minutes to play. With the way this series had played out in the first three games, the Timberwolves might as well have been down 10.
The Wolves had the ball in the frontcourt as the shot clock ticked down, and that’s when Kyle Anderson started to orchestrate. The ball was in Anthony Edwards’ hands, and Anderson motioned for Karl-Anthony Towns, the Wolves All-Star whose jumper has been broken this series, to get to the corner.
As Edwards drove to the paint, he rose and could have easily taken a tough, but makeable, pull-up jumper. But Anderson pointed emphatically at Towns in the corner, and Edwards obliged. It did not matter that Towns had struggled so mightily shooting the ball in the first three games, including going 0 of 8 from 3-point range in Game 3. Anderson trusted him and so did Edwards, who zipped a pass to him.
Towns was in foul trouble all game, and much of that was his doing with some ill-advised reach-in fouls. He had just five points in the first half, not helping his cause after going 15 of 54 from the field and 3 of 22 from 3 in the first three games. But he had started to catch a rhythm in the third quarter, and the show of faith from his teammates in the fourth seemed to embolden him. He rose and drilled the 3, his second of the quarter, for a 95-90 lead.
Back-to-back triples from KAT 👀 pic.twitter.com/zeUPijrKKs
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 29, 2024
He added another 3 a few minutes later to help the Timberwolves avoid a sweep with a 105-100 victory over the Mavericks. Towns finished with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including four 3s, and five rebounds before fouling out. There were still some head-scratching decisions and ill-advised fouls, but this is the shotmaking form Towns the Wolves have been missing in three very close losses to start this series.
“Everything came together for him,” said Edwards, who had 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. “He was super confident. He wasn’t worried about any of the shots previous to the shots he hit tonight. He played exceptionally well, and he came through big time. He was the reason we won tonight.”
The Timberwolves are trying to become the first NBA team to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series to win. They lost Game 1 by three points, Game 2 by one and Game 3 by nine and had leads in the final five minutes of every one of them. The Mavericks rallied to win all of those games thanks to superior shotmaking from Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving and some uncharacteristic misses from Towns. He was 0 of 8 from 3 in Game 3 and 2 of 9 in Game 1, performances unbecoming of a big man who prides himself in knocking down outside shots to give Edwards the space he needs to get to the rim.
In the lead-up to Game 4, Towns heard it all. The TNT guys hounded him for shooting so many 3s. The NBA world at large forgot about his major contributions to series wins over Phoenix in Round 1 and Denver in Round 2 and just focused on his considerable struggles against Dallas.
Some of the criticism was hard to dismiss. Towns had been playing frantic basketball, speeding up his game to meet the moment and instead flailing under a torrent of missed 3s and offensive fouls.
The whole way through, the Timberwolves and their fans were left to ponder what might have been. What if Towns had been even just competent with his shooting stroke in the first three games rather than a disaster? If his 3-point percentage in the first three games was a paltry 30 percent rather than the 13.6 that it was, would the Wolves be up 3-0 rather than the other way around?
Towns wondered himself. He wanted so badly for the good vibes from his strong performances against Phoenix and Denver to carry over to this Dallas series. He would match up favorably against P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford and many of the Mavericks’ athletic, but slightly smaller, frontcourt. But Towns had not been able to take advantage of the matchups in the first three games. His shot was off to such a degree that the Mavericks didn’t have to worry about him hurting them as much and allowed them to load up more on Edwards as he tried to get to the basket.
When his 3 wasn’t falling, the calls for him to get on the block and go to work down low did not make a lot of sense, either. Towns is more of a finesse player in the post. Whenever he tries to bully a smaller opponent, he often draws a foul with a hook of his arm or a lower of his shoulder. He picked up three offensive fouls in Game 4, a lack of control that could have cost his team the game and the series.
To his credit, he found a way to play extended minutes in the third and fourth quarters while also in foul trouble. After managing just five points at halftime, Towns scored 10 in the first six minutes of the third and 10 in the fourth quarter to help seal the deal.
“No time to have any doubts in your mind, especially this time,” Towns said. “It’s Game 4, down 3-0, ain’t no time to have any doubts. Go out there and be aggressive, shoot my shot like I’ve been doing all series, being confident in every shot I shoot.”
It was an essential half of basketball for Towns. He had five points, one rebound and three fouls in the first half of Game 4, and the barbarians were at the gate just waiting to tear him limb from limb after the inevitable Mavericks sweep. Then he delivered 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, hit three 3s in the fourth quarter and got some of his confidence back after the doldrums of the first three games.
“He saved the Timberwolves season tonight,” TNT’s Charles Barkley said after the game. “So give him his flowers. He deserves it.”
This is the way it had to be for Towns. He couldn’t go out like that, clanking 3s and being stuffed at the rim. He has had a renaissance season in Year 9, improving his defense and making his fourth All-Star Game. He has been good in the playoffs, coming up huge in closeout games against Phoenix and Denver to help push the Wolves to their first conference finals since 2004.
There is no way he could go out by bricking 3s and missing defensive assignments to the degree he had been during the first three games. There is no way the Timberwolves fans could not get another home game to cheer on a team that has revived the Wolves brand in Minnesota. Something had to give.
“Really proud of him,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “He’s been a huge part of every series up until then and we knew we had to get him into this series. Tonight was a great step for him.”
The Wolves also played some of their best defense of the series, holding the Mavericks to 42 percent shooting. Dončić was 7 of 21 with three turnovers and Kyrie Irving was 6 of 18 with four turnovers, significant departures from their almost flawless execution down the stretch to close the first three games. Both stars missed shots they normally make, but Finch’s decision to switch the defensive matchups and put Edwards on Dončić and Jaden McDaniels on Irving seemed to be effective, for one game at least. The adjustment wasn’t born of genius, but desperation.
“We were down 3-0,” Finch said. “Just shuffling the deck.”
The Wolves were further aided by the absence of Mavs rookie Dereck Lively II, who has wreaked havoc with his rim protection in this series. Lively was out with a neck strain after taking an inadvertent knee to the head from Towns in Game 3. That opened up driving lanes for Edwards to exploit. Whether it was in the half court or transition, Edwards didn’t wait for the Mavericks bigs to cluster near the rim. He made his move quickly and with force, scoring 14 points and shooting eight free throws, in the first quarter to get the Wolves in front early.
setting the pace. 🐜 pic.twitter.com/hyS5XDRXT8
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 29, 2024
“We wanted him to be aggressive,” Finch said. “He made some great plays, great shots. They were putting multiple bodies on him. There were guys open, too, so I thought we had all sorts of options with that.”
In the end, this was just one game. The Wolves still have a mountain to climb. If the Mavericks get Lively back for Game 5 in Minnesota on Thursday, it will get even more difficult for them. Dončić and Irving will both likely shoot much better as well, putting even more pressure on a defense that, until Tuesday, had not been able to stop Dallas at all.
But this was the closest the Timberwolves have looked to the version of themselves that was resourceful, tough-minded and relentless. It wasn’t always pretty. They surrendered a staggering 30 points off of 15 turnovers. They gave up 10 offensive rebounds even with Lively out of the game. Towns, Rudy Gobert and Edwards all spent much of the game in foul trouble. There were some bad calls, to be sure, but also some silly ones that the Wolves picked up with ill-fated reaches or lumbering drives to the rim.
And still, few thought the Wolves could win a game like this, one that comes down to execution in the closing minutes. The Mavericks have been the far superior team in that regard all series. But for one night, Minnesota found the upper hand.
BIG TIME BUCKET. pic.twitter.com/QzCjNGsItj
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 29, 2024
After the game, relief permeated the Wolves locker room. No one in there wanted to get swept. The first phase of their mission was complete, but they know that they still have miles to travel on this journey. Leave it to Edwards to put a little spice onto the night.
Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons stopped by the locker room on Tuesday to pay his respects to Edwards. Parsons was even wearing a pair of electric blue AE1s in homage to Edwards. The Wolves All-Star took notice and asked him what size shoe Parsons wears.
“He wears a size 14,” Edwards said with a smile on his face. “I’ll bring him back some nice shoes for Game 6. That’s what I told him.”
(Karl-Anthony Towns: Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
