No NBA team has ever come back from 3-0 down to win a series, but the Minnesota Timberwolves took the first step on Tuesday. Now, the Timberwolves are favored at home to send the series back to Dallas.
So you’re telling me there’s a chance. Of course, Dallas is still a massive favorite to win the series, but there’s at least a glimmer of hope for Minnesota. A Timberwolves win at home in Thursday’s Game 5 would put the pressure on Dallas to win the Mavericks’ last home game of the series in Game 6.
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Every game this series has gone down to the wire. Minnesota is capable of making this feel like a series again, but four in a row from 3-0 down has never happened. Boston came back from 3-0 down in the Eastern Conference finals last year against Miami, but then lost the decisive Game 7 by a lopsided margin. In that series, once Boston got back home, it felt like the Celtics were going to advance, but that shows how hard it is to win four in a row in the playoffs.
Here’s a look at the storylines, odds and staff picks for Thursday’s Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in Minneapolis.
All odds from BetMGM. Find the best deals on StubHub for tickets.
No. 5 Dallas Mavericks at No. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves
How to watch: 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Dallas leads series 3-1
Series odds: Mavericks -550, Timberwolves +425
Karl-Anthony Towns had a strange performance in Game 4. Towns was an efficient 9-for-13 from the floor and 4-for-5 from 3-point range, with most of those threes coming on clutch fourth-quarter possessions. He finished with 25 points and had the best plus-minus of the game (plus-15), but was in foul trouble most of the game and did foul out after 30 minutes on the floor. He also only had five rebounds, his second-lowest total of the playoffs.
Towns took over the game late, and Anthony Edwards was back to his best (29 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists). The game still went down to the final minute, but so has every other game in this series.
Dallas’ stars were not as good as Minnesota’s. Kyrie Irving scored 16 points just 6-of-18 shooting, and Luka Dončić said the loss was on him in his postgame press conference. It could be, considering he shot 7-for-21 from the field, but he still had a triple-double (28 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists). That shows just how much is being asked of the stars in this series.
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If Edwards and Towns play well, Minnesota is capable of beating this Dallas team. Minnesota has two of the remaining three potential games in this series at home. However, home court hasn’t meant much this postseason; home teams are 16-17 in the second round and conference finals combined.
The Timberwolves are favored to win Game 5 but likely wouldn’t be favored in Dallas. The most likely series outcome, according to BetMGM’s odds, is Dallas winning in six games (+155). The Mavs are +165 to win tonight, giving Dallas in five or Dallas in six similar odds. Those implied odds give Minnesota a nearly 1-in-4 chance to extend the series to seven games.
Boston last year is a recent example of a team going down 3-0 to force a Game 7, but that has only happened four times in NBA history, and those teams lost Game 7 in every circumstance. The previous time was in 2003 when Dallas was up 3-0 on Portland in the first round and needed to survive a Game 7 at home to advance, and did.
Expert picks for Mavericks at Timberwolves
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(Photo of Karl-Anthony Towns: Tim Heitman / Getty Images)
