3 Studs, 2 duds from Mavericks' narrow Game 4 loss to Timberwolves

3. Stud - Luka Doncic

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was listed as questionable ahead of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, and just like he always does, he ended up playing. Anyone who covers the Mavs knows that Doncic always does whatever he can to play, and this didn't change for Game 4.

Doncic finished with 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists while shooting 7-21 from the field and 4-11 from downtown, and although he was inefficient, he was one of the few bright spots for his team.

He was nailing some tough threes, knifing his way to the bucket (although he missed some bunnies at the rim), and getting to the free-throw line with ease. Doncic ended up shooting 10-12 from the free-throw line, and his improvement in this area has been noticeable during the playoffs.

Any time that you have Luka Doncic on your roster, you have a chance to win the game, and that's exactly what he did tonight for Dallas. He drilled an and-one three late in this game to cut the Timberwolves' lead to three, but he missed the free throw.

Even during their sloppy start, Doncic believed in his teammates and got some tough buckets to go down while the offense was stalling, and this helped them stay on the Timberwolves' heels.

This wasn't an unworldly performance from Doncic like we've been used to seeing in this series, but he did enough for the Mavs to claw out a win at home to advance to the NBA Finals but they just couldn't get it done.