By sara 
LOS ANGELES: The Dallas Mavericks, fueled by 36 points each from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-103 on Thursday to clinch the Western Conference crown and book an NBA title showdown with the Boston Celtics.
Denied a sweep at home on Tuesday, the Mavs left no room for doubt in Minneapolis as they wrapped up the best-of-seven conference finals 4-1 to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since they won the title in 2011.
The Celtics will host game one of the championship series on June 6. Slovenian star Doncic and Irving had their way with the league´s top-rated defense, Doncic taking the game by the throat in the opening minutes.
“My mindset was: set the tone,” said Doncic, who scored 20 points in a fast-paced first quarter, one more than the Timberwolves managed as a team. He scored four of his six three-pointers in the first period, including a bomb from the center court logo, and the Mavs closed the quarter on a 17-1 scoring run to put the Timberwolves on their heels for good.