The Wolves fall short in the Western Conference Finals rematch against the Mavericks

The second leg of the Western Conference Finals between the Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night – their first meeting since this series – at the sold-out Target Center in Minneapolis went as well as advertised.

Anthony Edwards was motivated from the start and dominated the first quarter. Kyrie Irving put on a show and lived up to his clutch reputation. Luka Doncic did too, and he hit a shot from a familiar spot that was essentially the deciding point in the Timberwolves' 120-114 loss. The final duo of Irving and Doncic was once again a difficult puzzle for the Wolves to solve.

Doncic hit a 3-pointer from well outside the arc on the right side of the court, in a similar spot — albeit deeper — to where he hit that game-winning shot over Rudy Gobert in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals this spring.

The Wolves cut it to four points with less than 30 seconds to play, and Irving missed two free throws to give the Wolves one last chance. But Naji Marshall forced Edwards to lose the ball and shot two free throws after a foul to finish.

“I remember the (turnover) at the end with Naji Marshall. He had good hands,” Edwards said. “Nobody can change that, he played a good game.”

Turnovers were once again a problem for the Wolves as they recorded 20 turnovers on the night. The Mavs also had 12 offensive rebounds that turned into 23 second-chance points, even though the Wolves held a 42-40 lead overall.

Dallas also had 20 fast break points and showed good transition throughout the game.

The Wolves were still within two with less than three minutes to play, but Irving hit a three-pointer that increased the Mavs' lead to 112-107.

“Obviously the daggers at the end when you're trying to come back are very painful, but they're a result of offensive rebounds, a result of (in)transitions, of not equalizing quickly,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said.

Irving finished the game with 35 points and five assists and Doncic had 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

Edwards gave the Timberwolves an early lead (2-2) and scored 24 points in the first quarter, the most points he has scored in a quarter in his career. He knocked down six early 3-pointers and the Wolves built a 34-26 lead. Edwards played the entire first quarter and sat at the start of the second quarter. He attempted only a single shot in the second frame, a missed 3, and the Wolves trailed 61-59 at halftime.

Edwards scored 13 goals the rest of the game, despite having his way with the Mavericks in the first quarter.

“I just got pretty cold,” Edwards said.

Edwards finished the game with 37 points and six rebounds, but had five turnovers and missed six free throws.

“I don’t know why it didn’t come in. It felt like I shot it the same way,” Edwards said. “I'm just a little mad at myself. I'm fine.”

The Wolves opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run, which included two three-pointers from Mike Conley, to take an eight-point lead, their largest lead of the night. But after a timeout, the Mavericks (3-1) responded with an 11-2 run and regained the lead.