DALLAS — For the first time under head coach Jason Kidd, the Dallas Mavericks lead a playoff series 1-0.
Previously 0-5 in Game 1s with Kidd, the Mavs finally broke through thanks to a star-led victory in Minnesota on Wednesday night, 108-105.
Game 1 losses have proven far from a kiss of death for the Mavs, though. They've gone on to win four of those five playoff series that started with a loss.
With Wednesday's win, Dallas improved to 5-2 on the road this postseason, and seized control of the Western Conference Finals in the process.
What does WCF Game 2 have in store? Here are three things to look for.
1. Doncic's defense
This is something I never thought I'd write, but here it goes: Luka Doncic made the game-defining play from Game 1 – and it was on the defensive end.
To read that lob pass to Rudy Gobert and to break it up? That's not something you often see from a guy who scores a game-high 33 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter.
Before MFFLs get all worked up, this is not to insinuate Doncic is bad on defense -- that's an old, lazy take. (It does seems at times in the playoffs, however, that perhaps due to his lingering knee injury, he's the nearest defender on a bunch of open three-pointers from the opposing team.)
In earnest, Doncic has been solid defensively all year, and Game 1 provided a national audience for the non-believers to witness it themselves.
If he continues to take over games like that on both ends of the floor, it's tough to see the Wolves stopping the Mavs from marching on to the NBA Finals.
2. Vintage Kyrie
I've mentioned this on X a few times over the last few weeks: The Mavs need Kyrie Irving to be aggressive from the start of games.
This postseason, Irving has often been too passive with the basketball, deferring to Doncic and the Mavs' role players so they can get in their scoring rhythm first. Then, all of a sudden, it's halftime and Irving has maybe four points.
In Game 1, however, Irving was aggressive early -- and it was needed in a massive way. Multiple times throughout the first half, the game teetered on getting out of hand in favor of Minnesota. But, nearly every time, Irving would come up with a bucket to quiet the crowd and keep the score close.
Without his 24 first-half points in Game 1, the Mavs would have been doomed.
Look for Irving to stay aggressive moving forward, but only based on what the defense gives him. The Wolves are sure to make adjustments for Game 2 in how they defend the 32-year-old.
3. Wolves worn out?
The Timberwolves came out buzzin' for Game 1. The Target Center was packed to the brim with fans clad in team-provided white t-shirts.
It was an extravaganza for a fan base witnessing their first Western Conference Finals game since 2004. Everything was going right early for Minnesota, too.
Jaden McDaniels -- most known for his elite defending -- hit five three-pointers en route to 19 points in the first half.
Kyle Anderson -- nicknamed "Slow Mo" after his playing style -- scored 11 points in the first half.
By halftime, that pair had combined for 30 of the Wolves' 62 points. In an instance like that, you'd assume Minnesota was up a ton. Instead, the Mavs trailed by only three at the break.
How? Well, Dallas took away the paint and dared the Wolves' role players to shoot, which is why Minnesota attempted 49 three-pointers on the night.
In the end, the Timberwolves made 12 more three pointers than the Mavs. And yet they still lost.
Heading into Game 2, I'd expect Minnesota to shoot fewer threes and make a more concerted effort to get to the bucket -- especially Wolves star Anthony Edwards, who made just one two-point field goal in Game 1.
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