MINNEAPOLIS – After his 30-foot kickback dagger swung through the net, Luka Doncic stared into the crowd at the Target Center and shouted a profane reminder to no one in particular.

“That’s what the fuck I do,” Doncic roared after the shot he launched from near the Minnesota Timberwolves’ half-court logo pushed the Dallas Mavericks’ lead to eight points with 1:04 left in their 120 -114 win Tuesday. night.

It was certainly a familiar sight. Doncic’s clutch efforts highlighted the Mavs’ victory over the Timberwolves in last season’s Western Conference finals.

“We’ve seen this movie before,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “He likes the opportunity to win the game. He’s not afraid, and he stepped up and made a big chance.”

Call this a sequel. The most memorable moment of the Mavs’ run to the NBA Finals last spring occurred on the same side of the Target Center court, when Doncic danced with his dribble before hitting a Game 2-winning step-back 3-pointer over four-way defense scored. Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.

Doncic celebrated that shot by loudly letting Gobert know the big man couldn’t guard him, peppering a few expletives into his trash talk, though he joked in the aftermath that he spoke Slovenian.

Doncic smacked this dagger over Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, taking the moment to respond to a fan base that expressed hard feelings toward him throughout the game.

“I’ve heard a lot of things. They really like me here,” Doncic said with dry humor after his 27-point, 8-rebound, 9-assist performance. “You know, last year was fun. It was a big moment in my career and in my life, so it was nice to be here again.”

According to ESPN Research, in the West finals, Dallas became the first team in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98) to take a 3-0 lead despite trailing with five minutes left in the fourth quarter in each of the matches. those games. The Mavs provided the Timberwolves with a painful reminder of their latest prowess in the first meeting between these teams this season.

As was the case in the playoffs, Kyrie Irving played alongside Doncic down the stretch. The Wolves didn’t take the lead this time, but Minnesota cut an 11-point Mavs lead entering the fourth quarter to a one-possession margin over the final four minutes.

The Mavs answered with a bucket every time: a driving layup from Irving, an alley-oop from Doncic to PJ Washington, an Irving 3 off the dribble and a Doncic finger roll after attacking Gobert on a closeout.

The Mavs scored 21 points in the final 7:15, with Doncic and Irving combining for 16 points.

“It’s just buying time,” said Irving, who scored 25 of his team-high 35 points in the second half. “I knew we had to create some separation in the game to continue to project that confidence, and it worked out well for us. But we know (Minnesota) is going to be a little different when we play them every time.” Occasionally they will make some adjustments here and there. And over time we will see them quite often.”

Another similarity to last season’s West final: Doncic was dealing with a sore right knee. He left the field with 70 seconds left in the second quarter and limped to the locker room after Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels accidentally hit him from behind during a drive.

Doncic returned to start the second half. His knee, which had been sprained for most of the playoffs, was wrapped around it. He tested it with a series of jogs, skips, hops and defensive slides in the final few minutes of halftime.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter, when Doncic led all scorers with eleven points, that he ran into trouble. He had a slow start to the season after sitting out all of training camp and the preseason due to a left calf contusion. He is shooting just 36.4% from the field and 26.8% from 3-point range for the 3-1 Mavs.

Doncic was 10 of 27 from the field and missed his first seven 3s Tuesday night, a drought he ended with his 32-foot dagger.

“I don’t know how I can make those shots and not normal shots,” Doncic said. “I don’t know how to do it. Ultimately I just have to get the rust out. I’ll be back. I haven’t played all preseason so I need some time.” But we got the win, that’s all that matters.”