Timberwolves shut down Mavericks stars on tension-filled final play to capture 124-121 win

DALLAS – In the Timberwolves huddle with 14.8 seconds left and the Wolves up three, coach Chris Finch asked his team a question — do you want to foul the Mavericks or play out the final possession?

Anthony Edwards spoke up: Play it out.

The Wolves had watched a 26-point third-quarter lead shrink all the way down to that margin thanks to Luka Doncic (33 points) and Kyrie Irving, with Irving scoring 26 of his 36 in a furious fourth-quarter rally. Finch trusted his players, and it resulted in a pulse-raising, exhilarating 124-121 Wolves victory.

Dallas never got off a shot. Jaden McDaniels locked up Doncic and Edwards took care of Irving in one of the best defensive sequences of the Wolves' season, given the situation and caliber of players they had to stop.

"They got two iso players. We got two iso defenders," Edwards said. "So, I mean, however they want to do it, let's do it."

"They was saying they wanted to foul. I was just like, 'Nah, man, let's play.' Let's guard them. Make them make a three."

The stop salvaged a night on which the Wolves gave up a 26-point lead and hung on for dear life in a frenzied road arena as Irving couldn't miss in the fourth. But the Wolves had built a big enough lead and made enough plays down the stretch thanks to Edwards (32 points) McDaniels (19 points on 7-for-8) and Kyle Anderson, who hit key buckets when the Wolves were reeling. Anderson had 10 of his 12 points in the fourth.

"When you got Ant and Jaden guarding out there, you got to let those guys do what they do," Anderson said. "They're excellent on defense. Those are two tough guys to hit a trey ball on for game. We let our dogs be dogs."

Finch had no problem trusting both of them in that moment. Plus, he said, with so much time on the clock, it was a tough decision whether to foul, especially given that the Wolves missed multiple free throws down the stretch.

"We knew we couldn't lose the game on the shot, so let's try to win the game with our defense," Finch said.

McDaniels forced a broken play from the start by tipping the inbound pass and forcing Doncic to catch it in the backcourt. Doncic passed it to Irving, who tried to get a shot off multiple times, but each time either Edwards or McDaniels prevented him from getting a clean look. Eventually, Irving panicked and threw a misguided pass to Theo Pinson, and Taurean Prince came away with a steal as time expired.

The cool and steely McDaniels said his heart rate stayed the same in that moment.

"I mean, I don't really show emotion, so I just be myself during them times," McDaniels said. "Try not to overthink anything."

The Wolves played the last several minutes without Rudy Gobert, who had one of his best games of the season playing alongside Mike Conley (12 points, nine assists). Gobert had 21 points and 14 rebounds on 9-for-9 shooting and was a big reason why the Wolves were up 26 in the first place. But when Dallas went small, Finch pulled Gobert with the thought to re-insert him with a few minutes left. He never did.

"I trust Coach. At the same time, I want to win and when it's winning time for me, that's what I live for," Gobert said. "That's when I elevate myself, when I'm at my best. Definitely want to be out there unless I'm not playing well. But, we have a lot of talent on this team and sometimes I got to trust Coach and what he does."

And in the most crucial moment of the game, Finch trusted his players, specifically his two youngest starters in Edwards and McDaniels. They didn't let him down.

"Ant said play it out. I had no problem with that," McDaniels said. "We all good defenders. I feel like it was like a pride thing of not needing to foul. Just go in and get the stop."