The Dallas Mavericks, led by basketball superstar Luka Doncic, have made it to the NBA finals for the first time since the Dirk Nowitzki era. The team from Texas won the fifth game of the play-off semi-finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves 124:103 and won the best-of-seven series 4:1. In the first final since 2011, Dallas will face record champions Boston Celtics; 13 years ago, Nowitzki won the only title to date as Finals MVP.
This means that another Würzburg player is aiming for the NBA crown. Maximilian Kleber played his second game on Thursday (local time) after a serious shoulder injury that he suffered at the beginning of May. The 32-year-old played a good nine minutes and scored three points and one rebound. After the game, Kleber proudly presented himself in the locker room with the Oscar Robertson Trophy for the winner of the Western Conference.
“Finals!!! Let’s go!” wrote Nowitzki on X. The first final will take place on June 6 in Boston. For the Mavs, Doncic once again stood out in the decisive semifinal with a double-double of 36 points and ten rebounds, while Kyrie Irving also scored 36 points. “My attitude was: we have to set the tone,” said Doncic, who scored 20 of his points in the first quarter. The Slovenian “left his mark” on the game, even praised Timberwolves coach Chris Finch.
Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns scored the best points for Minnesota with 28 points each. The Timberwolves had eliminated defending champions Denver Nuggets in the previous round. The Dallas Mavericks won the Western Conference for only the third time after 2006 and 2011. Final opponents Boston had even beaten the Indiana Pacers 4-0 in their series, and the Celtics are now aiming for their 18th NBA title in the final.
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