Only five teams in NBA history have come back to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first two at home. The Timberwolves would prefer to avoid having to face those odds.

By Jerry Zgoda

The Minnesota Star Tribune

May 24, 2024 at 12:10AM

Jaden McDaniels tries to pry the ball from Luka Doncic's possession during the first quarter of Game 1 Wednesday night. McDaniels led the Timberwolves with 24 points. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Western Conference finals

No. 3 Wolves vs. No. 5 Dallas (Mavericks lead series 1-0)

Game 2: 7:30 p.m. Friday • Target Center

TV, radio: TNT, 100.3 FM, iHeartRadio app

Analysis and stats: Tap here

Opening bell: The Mavericks’ 108-105 victory on Wednesday was the first Game 1 playoff win in Jason Kidd’s three seasons as head coach. Until then, they were 0-5, having lost this season at the L.A. Clippers and Oklahoma City. “It’s new to everyone,” Kidd said Thursday about winning a Game 1. “But at this time of year, it’s about winning. We found a way to win on the road and now we’ve got to figure out how to win tomorrow.”

Player to Watch: Jaden McDaniels, Wolves. That’s three consecutive 20-plus point games for him: 21 points and three threes, then 23 points and three threes in Game 6 and 7 of the Denver series, and 24 points on 6-for-9 shooting in Wednesday’s game. And that’s with defending the opponent’s best scorer every night. In Game 1 against Dallas that was Luka Doncic, who finished with his season average (33) after scoring 15 in the fourth quarter.

Injuries: The Wolves list G Mike Conley (calf strain) as questionable.

Forecast: Only five teams in NBA history have come back to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first two games at home. The Wolves are trying to avoid hitting a point where they need to follow these teams’ footsteps: the 1969 Los Angeles Lakers in six games over the San Francisco Warriors, the 1994 Houston Rockets in seven games over Phoenix, the 2005 Dallas Mavericks in seven games over Houston, the 2017 Boston Celtics in six games over Chicago and the 2021 L.A. Clippers in seven games over Doncic and the Mavericks.