Dončić danced by Gobert for dramatic game-winning three-pointer

As the old saying goes, it’s not the size of the man in the fight that counts, but the size of the fight in the man.

That was the case Friday night in Minneapolis when the smaller man in this one-on-one battle – Dallas Mavericks 6-7, 230-pound point guard Luka Dončić – had a huge leg up on the taller man in the battle – Minnesota Timberwolves 7-1, 258-pound center Rudy Gobert. After the two players did a little cha cha dance for a few seconds, Dončić decided enough was enough and nailed a dramatic step-back three-pointer with three seconds left over the outstretched arms of Gobert.

The crucial bucket by Dončić provided the Mavs with a thrilling 109-108 victory – after they trailed by 18 points — and also gave them a commanding 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven Western Conference Finals series. For Dončić, it was one of those the-bigger-they-are-the-harder-they-fall type of moments.

“It was just time to get ready for the magic to happen,” Mavs guard Kyrie Irving said.  “(Dončić) got to his move, shot it with confidence as he always does, and he took us home.”

Mavs center Dereck Lively II brought Gobert out near the top of the key on a high pick-and-roll. Jaden McDaniels was guarding Dončić at the time, but Gobert switched over onto Dončić after the Mavs brought the ball inbound with 12.8 seconds remaining.

Dončić didn’t expect Gobert would do exactly what the Mavs wanted – which was to take the bait and switch onto the five-time first-team All-NBA player.

“We were just going to play that pick-and-roll and we’ll just figure it out from there,” Dončić said. “That’s about it.”

Going into his final timeout – with Dallas down, 108-106 — Mavs coach Jason Kidd knew he had to draw up something that included getting the ball in the hands of Dončić.

“The play was to get Luka the ball and let Luka do what Luka does in those moments,” Kidd said. “We talked about taking the two – we were only down two.

“But when (Dončić) got to dancing with Gobert, you could see that the step-back (three-pointer) was coming, and the rest was history.”

Here are the three takeaways from the Mavs’ one-point win over the Timberwolves.

*If the Mavs can get every game what they got from their two-headed center combination of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II on Friday, they’re going to be very hard to beat. Gafford and Lively combined for 30 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks on 14-of-16 shooting. Gafford was 8-of-10 from the field and collected 16 points, five rebounds and five blocks, while Lively was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor and finished with 14 points and nine boards.

*A different Kyrie Irving showed up for Game 2 than the one who appeared in Game 1. After proving in Game 1 to Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards that he (Edwards) couldn’t guard him, Irving went out and poured in 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2. That came after Irving opened this best-of-seven series by scoring 13 of his 30 points in the first quarter. On Friday, Irving was 7-of-16 from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc. He also drained a three-pointer to get the Mavs within 108-106 of Minnesota with 1:05 left.

*Although the Timberwolves are the taller team, the Mavs ended Game 2 with a 44-40 rebounding advantage over the Timberwolves. That came after the Mavs won the rebounding battle in Game 1, 48-40. The Mavs have also continued to dominate the scoring inside the paint. In Game 2 the Mavs outscored the Timberwolves in the paint, 54-42. That came after the Mavs outscored Minnesota in the paint in the series opener, 62-38.

X: @DwainPrice