Mavs' Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving Praised by NBA Fans After G1 Win vs. Edwards, Wolves

In a Western Conference Finals full of stars, Luka Dončić shined the brightest.

The Dallas Mavericks' leader shifted into takeover mode in the fourth quarter and led his team to a 108-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Wednesday's Game 1 at Target Center. His heavily contested jumper in the final minute was the game's biggest shot before Kyrie Irving clinched the win on the free-throw line and with a late rebound.

Dončić finished with 33 points, eight assists, six rebounds, three steals and one block, but he was at his best in crunch time with 15 points in the fourth quarter.

It wasn't a one-man show, as Irving spearheaded the Mavericks' early offensive efforts and finished with 30 points, five rebounds and four assists. The pair scored more than half of Dallas' points and drew plenty of love from social media:

All eyes were on the Timberwolves coming into this contest, as they just won Game 7 on the road to eliminate the reigning-champion Denver Nuggets and had a golden opportunity to build on that momentum and send a statement to the teams remaining in the playoffs as they returned home.

Anthony Edwards (19 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals) was ready to send that statement and helped the Timberwolves build a halftime lead by quickly finding his stroke from deep, battling on the boards and willingly facilitating when doubles came his way.

That facilitating was most beneficial when the ball found Jaden McDaniels, who caught fire from three-point range in the early going and helped keep the home team ahead even though Irving was unstoppable attacking the rim on the other side.

Irving capped off a brilliant first half with an and-1 right before the buzzer, which gave the Mavericks momentum before a back-and-forth third quarter that saw the teams trade the lead multiple times as role players such as Daniel Gafford and Naz Reid made their impact.

It was just a matter of time before Dončić had his moment, and he put the Mavericks on his back early in the fourth quarter with seven consecutive points and an assist to Derrick Jones Jr. He did it all while bleeding from his knee, and it appeared like the visitors were going to steal home-court advantage.

Minnesota had one more counterpunch, though, and took a four-point lead with triples from Karl-Anthony Towns and Edwards. Enter Dončić, who connected on a step-back three and midrange jumper down the stretch to swing the game Dallas' direction.

Friday's Game 2 is now something of a must-win for the Timberwolves as they attempt to avoid a 2-0 deficit before the series shifts to Dallas.