Luka Doncic was in "magic mode" after his starring role helped the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA finals since 2011, coach Jason Kidd said. (More Sports News)
The Mavs and the Boston Celtics will contest this season's NBA championship after wrapping up a 4-1 Western Conference series victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A 124-103 win did the trick at Target Center, where Donic and Kyrie Irving led the way for Dallas with 36 points apiece.
Doncic was quick out of the blocks, scoring 20 of his points during the first half on the way to notching up his highest-scoring contributions of the postseason, with his performances earning the Western Conference finals MVP award.
"It was Luka magic mode," Kidd said. "He set the tone, and then he made it easier for everyone else. Everybody else stepped up."
"You're just watching a special performance take place," Irving added. "When Luka starts off a game like that, we're a tough team to beat."
Indeed, they are. The Mavs are 7-2 on the road during the playoffs - winning the last five - matching the franchise record for such victories during a single postseason, set in their title-winning campaign of 2010-11.
A EuroBasket champion with Slovenia and EuroLeague winner during his final season with Real Madrid, Doncic is now gearing up for his first crack at an NBA title, with the Finals series commencing on June 6.
And he insists his team-mates cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
"It was a very hard road, very hard," Doncic said "But we're not done. We have four more [victories to achieve]."
