"Kick a*s " - Gregg Popovich presses Mark Cuban's Mavericks to boot Timberwolves in Conference finals
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is rallying behind Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The long-time bench tactician offered words of support to their fellow Texas team in a recent event he attended as he gave a short message for the Mavericks executive by way of X user 2Cool2Blog.
Popovich said:
"Go, Mavs. Come on, Mark. Kick a*s"
The Mavericks did their Western Conference finals cause a huge favor by hacking out a gutsy 109-108 victory in Game 2 on Friday in Minnesota to go up 2-0 in their best-of-seven series.
Luka Doncic was the game hero for the Mavericks, draining what turned out to be the game-winning triple over Rudy Gobert with three seconds remaining, Minnesota still had a chance to win the game but the three-point attempt of Sixth Man of the Year awardee Naz Reid failed to go in.
Doncic led the way for Dallas in Game 2, finishing with a triple-double, his fifth in these playoffs, of 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in 42 minutes of play.
Kyrie Irving backstopped him with 20 points and six assists, with Daniel Gafford adding 16 points and rookie Dereck Lively II 14 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Popovich and the Spurs missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season but the future looks promising with newly minted NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama as their cornerstone.
Dallas Mavericks look to take a commanding 3-0 lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves
The Dallas Mavericks are looking to bury the Minnesota Timberwolves further and move a step closer to returning to the NBA Finals after over a decade when they host Game 3 of the 2024 Western Conference finals on Sunday on their home floor.
Dallas is coming off a high after snatching Game 2 from the Timberwolves on Friday, courtesy of a game-winning three-pointer by team superstar Luka Doncic, handing his team a 2-0 series lead.
Despite creating some separation from Minnesota, Doncic knows that the job is not yet done and urged the Mavericks to continue to play as a team and with positive energy.
He said postgame by way of ESPN:
"Like I always say, stay together, positive energy."
While they are down 0-2 in the series, Minnesota All-Star Anthony Edwards remains confident that they are not yet out of the running, taking a cue from their West semifinal series with erstwhile defending champions Denver Nuggets.
In the series, the Timberwolves went up 2-0, only to be taken to a Game 7.
Edwards said of their current situation:
"So we've been here before. I don't think anybody in the locker room is panicking. I hope not. Just come out and play our brand of basketball."
Dallas is looking to make it to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011 when they went all the way and won the championship in six games against the Miami Heat.