The Timberwolves and Dallas will meet in the Western Conference playoffs

The Timberwolves and Dallas play tonight in Dallas, with the Mavericks leading the best-of-7 series 2-0. Writer Chris Hayne reports live from American Airlines Arena:

Statistics and play-by-play from Game 3

9:01 p.m.: The game is tied after three quarters as Edwards takes the lead on the comeback

Anthony Edwards vowed to be aggressive heading into Game 3, and he found his aggression in the third quarter as he once again led the Wolves in the game with 10 points in the third quarter and the teams tied 87-87 heading into the fourth quarter.

With the Wolves down 76-77, Edwards scored eight of Minnesota’s next 11 points, including a thunderous layup that sent shockwaves through Dallas fans. The dunk appeared to activate Edwards, who then hit his next two players and increased his defensive intensity when he forced a Derrick Jones Jr. turnover and then signaled to the bench to take a timeout at the 4:10 mark.

The Wolves took their first lead in 5-3 when Naz Reid hit a layup to give them a 79-77 lead.

The Wolves couldn’t stop sending Dallas to the free throw line in the third period. The Mavericks were on the penalty kill at the 8:36 mark of the quarter and Mike Conley came to the bench with four fouls. Dallas was 14-for-17 from the free throw line in the third quarter. Luka Doncic reached 26 points by the end of the third period, going 8-for-10 at the free throw line.

The Wolves’ Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert also start the fourth quarter with four fouls each.

Minnesota was hitting shots to open the half as they took advantage of the absence of Derek Lively (Liveley was officially ruled out with a sprained neck). Jones, Dallas’ perimeter defender, also briefly exited the game after absorbing an illegal hard screen from Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

8:09pm: Wolves trail down the middle, but the Mavs are missing a key player

Karl-Anthony Towns missed his first seven shots of the night and went 2-for-10 in the first half as the Wolves led Dallas 60-52 at halftime. Towns missed all of his three pointers.

But Dallas suffered a major injury to its offensive line, as Derek Lively left the game due to a neck injury 8 minutes and 35 seconds before the end of the second half.

As Lively fell to the ground in an attempt to rebound, his head collided with Towns’ knee, snapping his neck forward. Lively remained on the ground for several moments during the timeout and needed help getting off the ground as he struggled to maintain his balance. He came up with six points on 3-for-3 shooting with three rebounds and won’t be back.

Lively was 13-for-13 in the series before leaving. Earlier in the game, he hit Towns with a knee to the groin as the Wolves big man drove to the rim.

The Mavs’ Luka Doncic and Rudy Gobert exchanged pleasantries later in the quarter on back-to-back plays after they hit a rebound and around a screen. Doncic had some words for Gobert after hitting a three-pointer over him in Game 2. Both teams faced unsuccessful challenges in the first half.

Edwards and Jaden McDaniels scored 12 points to lead the Wolves.

Dallas shot 54% in the first half, while Doncic led by 15.

7:33 p.m.: Wolves go after one another, Conley visits the locker room

Ahead of Sunday’s third game, Wolves coach Chris Finch said the message to Karl-Anthony Towns is to play slower while he wants Anthony Edwards to play faster.

Edwards scored nine points in the first quarter, but Towns couldn’t get on the right track as the Wolves trailed Dallas 33-28 after one point.

Wolves point guard Mike Conley went to the locker room during the quarter; He was playing despite his calf injury. He came back soon after.

Edwards was 3-for-6 from the field while Towns went 0-for-3 in the quarter. Luka Doncic scored eight early points for Dallas.

Dallas came out strong at home as the Mavericks hit their first three threes of the night and Edwards got off to a rough start with a turnover, a brick and one of two free throws after a drive.

Edwards hit his next two shots and the Wolves got threes from Conley and Jaden McDaniels and pulled within 15-13 at the timeout with 6:01 to play.

The Wolves got seven points in the first quarter from McDaniels making a splash with a mid-range jumper from about 10 feet, but the Wolves’ defense had little answer to the Mavericks’ offense, which shot 11-for-19.

6:36 PM, the news is getting closer

Dallas’ key players are Luka Doncic (playoff stats: 28.0 goals, 9.4 rebounds, 9.3 assists), shooting guard Kyrie Irving (21.6 points, 5.4 assists), small forward Derrick Jones (10.1 points), power forward P.J. Washington ( 13.9 points). And center Daniel Gafford (9.2 points and 5.7 rebounds). Center Derek Lively is averaging 8.7 points off the bench.

For the Wolves, it’s Mike Conley (11.4 points, 6.1 assists), Anthony Edwards (27.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists), small forward Jaden McDaniels (12.5 points), and power forward Karl-Anthony Towns (18.3 points). (8.9 rebounds) and center Rudy Gobert (12.5 points and 10.5 rebounds). Naz Reid is averaging 11.7 points off the bench.

The umpires are Tony Brothers (crew chief), Ben Taylor and Curtis Blair. The last time they owned the Wolves was Game 3 of the Denver series, which the Wolves lost at home.

The match is being broadcast on TNT, with a schedule of 7 p.m

Morning shoot recap: Anthony Edwards says he’s going to be very aggressive

One of Anthony Edwards’ defining traits on and off the field is the infectious joy with which he approaches every aspect of his life. You’ll rarely find Edwards in a bad mood, no matter the circumstances.

But Edwards said that after the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, he lost a little bit of the joy of playing basketball because he had some difficulty scoring.

“I was probably taking away from having a good time out there. Just letting my mistakes and things get to my mind. I’ve got to get back to having fun and playing with joy and a smile,” Edwards said at a shootout before Game 3. on my face.”

Edwards is 11-for-33 so far in this series and has vowed that he will be more aggressive, attack the basket more and hit more shots in Game 3 than he has so far.

“You’ll all see tonight. There’ll be a lot of photo shoots,” Edwards said. “… I’m going to be very aggressive. I’ve never taken more than 16 shots a game. So, I’ll be very aggressive coming out, for sure.”

Edwards said that the atmosphere surrounding the team remains positive and optimistic despite Wolves losing two matches at home that they could have won.

“Everyone is in a good mood, especially me,” Edwards said. “We lost two games. We gave them two games. We are very confident.”