Minneapolis – The Mavericks are making their third trip to the NBA Finals in 44 years.

For the first time, Luka Dončić will showcase his tremendous skills on basketball’s largest platform.

 
By Thursday night, he appears to be more than prepared.

The Dallas Mavericks easily defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, led by superstar guards Dončić and Kyrie Irving.

Dončić led the Mavericks to a 124-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Centre, despite being booed by the crowd.

The Mavericks won the West finals four games to one. They are now 12–5 in the playoffs. And after four close games to start the series, Thursday’s was a blowout nearly from the outset.

Dončić scored 20 points in the first quarter and passed the torch to Irving, who scored 15 in the second. By 7:54 in the third quarter, the Mavericks had extended their lead to 82-46.

The rest was for show, as Snoop Dogg sat in a courtside seat, shaking his head.

“Luka came out and set the tone, offensively and defensively,” coach Jason Kidd said. “He let everybody know he was ready to play. I thought we followed his lead.

“Luka, he was able to be aggressive and Kai joined the party and when those two are going . . . for them to come back after maybe not a great game in Game 4, those two responded in a high level and they carried us tonight. But a great team effort. Incredible to be atop the Western Conference. We’re just happy to be able to represent the Western Conference in the Finals.”

If ever a player was determined to grab a game by the throat at the jump ball, it was Luka.

“My mind,” Dončić said during the postgame trophy presentation, “was to set the tone.”

And he did.

So, the Mavericks are back in the Finals. And for the first time, the Miami Heat will not be their opponents.

The NBA Finals will begin Thursday at TD Garden, with the Mavericks taking on the Boston Celtics. Both teams will have plenty of time to relax and prepare for what promises to be an exciting series. The Celtics will compete for their 18th NBA title, while the Mavericks will seek their second.

Luka will be joined in the Finals by Irving, who will be making his fourth NBA Finals appearance, but his first since 2017, as the league’s newest, coolest set of superstar teammates takes their place in the white-hot limelight.

They’ll be hard pressed to get hotter than they were on Thursday. Dončić scored 36 points but only played briefly in the fourth quarter. Irving added 36 points as the duo appeared to demonstrate title credentials in the final.

They took turns cutting through the Wolves’ famed defence. And when it was finished, they could hug and celebrate reaching the NBA Finals.

Dončić makes history as the franchise’s second Finals participant. Dirk Nowitzki waited eight seasons to reach the Finals, where the Mavericks were defeated in six games by the Miami Heat.

Five years later, in 2011, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to their sole championship, also in six games and against the Heat.

Now, in his sixth season, it is Dončić’s turn.

Judging from Thursday night, he’s more than ready.

Dončić’s performance in the first quarter was impressive. He poured in 20 points, one more than the Wolves had, as the Mavericks built a 35-19 lead. It was the second 20-point quarter he’s had in the playoffs (fourth quarter against Golden State in 2022).

Dončić made 8/10 shots in the quarter, including 4/5 from outside the arc. He simply destroyed the Minnesota defense.

It was to be expected, really. Dončić consistently performs well, especially following playoff losses.

His scoring average isn’t that much different than his playoff scoring as a whole – 31.8 points after the Mavericks’ first four losses in these playoffs. His average overall: 28.3 points.

But his shooting has been far better in games after a loss (50.5 percent) than overall (42.6 percent). And he’s shot 17-of-41 on threes in the four wins after a loss (41.5 percent). In all playoff games, he’s hitting 32.7 percent.

The Mavericks went up 46-23 early in the second quarter and the Wolves were having trouble getting clean looks at the basket.