Mavericks look to secure conference finals victory over the Timberwolves
Dallas Mavericks (50-32, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (56-26, third in the Western Conference)
Minneapolis; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EDT
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Mavericks lead series 3-1
BOTTOM LINE: The Dallas Mavericks look to clinch the series over the Minnesota Timberwolves in game five of the Western Conference finals. The Timberwolves beat the Mavericks 105-100 in the last meeting. Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 29 points, and Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 28 points.
The Timberwolves have gone 37-15 against Western Conference opponents. Minnesota ranks fifth in the NBA with 34.2 defensive rebounds per game led by Rudy Gobert averaging 9.2.
The Mavericks are 31-21 against Western Conference opponents. Dallas is 5-2 in one-possession games.
The Timberwolves are shooting 48.5% from the field this season, 1.0 percentage point higher than the 47.5% the Mavericks allow to opponents. The Mavericks average 14.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.2 more made shots on average than the 11.4 per game the Timberwolves allow.
TOP PERFORMERS: Karl-Anthony Towns is scoring 21.8 points per game and averaging 8.3 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Edwards is averaging 24.6 points and 6.4 rebounds over the last 10 games.
Daniel Gafford is scoring 11.0 points per game and averaging 7.6 rebounds for the Mavericks. Doncic is averaging 27.4 points and 10.1 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Timberwolves: 4-6, averaging 103.8 points, 41.1 rebounds, 24.4 assists, 7.4 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 101.7 points per game.
Mavericks: 7-3, averaging 106.9 points, 43.3 rebounds, 23.5 assists, 5.9 steals and 6.2 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.1 points.
INJURIES: Timberwolves: Jaylen Clark: out (achilles).
Mavericks: Olivier-Maxence Prosper: out (ankle), Dereck Lively II: out (neck).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
