Sporty.com | NBA: Doncic dominates early as Mavs cruise into NBA Finals

Luka Doncic scored 20 of his 36 points in the first quarter and Kyrie Irving also scored 36 as the Dallas Mavericks booked a trip to the NBA Finals with a 124-103 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night.

Dallas were never threatened in Game 5 as it built a 29-point halftime lead on 61 percent shooting and led by as many as 36 points in the third quarter.

The Mavericks will have a full week to rest before the NBA Finals begin in Boston on June 6 for the franchise’s first appearance since winning the title in 2011. The Celtics have been off since finishing a sweep of Indiana on Monday.

Irving improved to 15-1 in his career in closeout games in the playoffs.

Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 with 12 rebounds for the Wolves, who were unable to build on Tuesday’s Game 4 win in Dallas.

Doncic hit his first four shots and drained a 32-footer later in the first quarter. The Mavs closed on a 17-1 spurt, a run they pushed to 28-5 over a nine-minute stretch.

It was Doncic’s second 20-point quarter in his postseason career, following a 21-point fourth quarter in the Western Conference finals loss to Golden State in 2022.

Dallas got backup center Dereck Lively II back from a sprained neck that sidelined him the previous game. He had nine points and eight rebounds and Daniel Gafford added 11 points and nine boards.