'Amazing!' Luka Doncic's Mavs Advance to West Finals: Warriors NBA Tracker
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MAY 19 MAVS TO WCF Going into Saturday night's Game 6 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving was undefeated in closeout games with an all-time record of 13-0.
Make it 14-0 with a nail-biting 117-116 win as the Mavs advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in three years. Dallas will wait to see who it will play, as the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves play in a Game 7 on Sunday.
"Amazing!'' said Luka. And he's on to something there.
MAY 14 MAVS FOLD The Dallas Mavericks controlled Monday's playoff Game 4 against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder ... until the fourth quarter, when their stars fell short - as did their free-throw shooting ... en route to a 100-96 loss.
P.J. Washington led the Mavs in scoring, finishing with 21 points on 7-19 shooting and 12 rebounds. But Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving didn't carry their usual load, and most damning, Dallas allowed OKC to tie the series 2-2 because of the charity stripe.
The Thunder shot 23-24 from the line, while the Mavs shot 12-23.
"We just got to work on our free throws," Doncic said. "We shot 52 percent. That's unacceptable."
MAY 6 T-WOLVES UP Maybe it should be taken as a sign that the Golden State rebuild could happen sooner rather than later.
That sign? The reigning champion Denver Nuggets hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals over the weekend ... and the Timberwolves handled the favorites, 106-99.
This is about growth - rapid growth. A year ago, Denver topped Minny 4-1 in a playoff series. Now? The Nuggets are the No. 2 seed in the West. But the No. 3 seed is Minny, led by Anthony Edwards.
And if the Nuggets can be caught by the Timberwolves? The Warriors can again catch up, too.
BRON AND CURRY? LeBron James' future with the Los Angeles Lakers is surrounded by a lot of questions. As a result some teams, including the Golden State Warriors, could take their shot at trading for one of the greatest players to ever pick up a basketball.
In a trade proposed by Bleacher Report's Dan Favale, the Warriors send Jonathan Kuminga, Kevon Looney, Brandin Podziemski, Andrew Wiggins, and a handful of first-round picks to the Lakers in exchange for LeBron.
"Golden State can try negotiating a more favorable opportunity cost if it's feeling heat-checky. After all, these talks only transpire if LeBron leverages the Lakers into a trade," Favale writes. "But the Warriors aren't surviving such a blockbuster with Kuminga or Podz still on the roster. They should consider themselves lucky that LeBron's clout might spare them from adding in Moses Moody and Trayce Jackson-Davis. And if Golden State has to include either or both, it should."
Trading for a player like James would cost an arm and a leg, but he is one of the few players in the league that would be worth a price tag as big as that.
Warriors Destined to Trade Andrew Wiggins?
LeBron is turning 40 years old this December, but he is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. He averaged just over 25 points per game and shot over 40 percent from three for the first time in his 21-year career.
James has said in the past that he would love to team up with Stephen Curry before he retires, and the Warriors could be one big move away from making that a reality.
