Three days ago, Minnesota was in a state of euphoria after rallying from a 20-point deficit in Game 7 to knock off the defending champs.

Now, the Timberwolves trail the Western Conference Finals 1-0.

Life moves fast in the NBA. Series change and you are asked to do different things stylistically and schematically to match your new opponent.

Minnesota was a little slow to the trigger in its 108-105 loss to Dallas on Wednesday at Target Center.

The Wolves took too long to find their defense against Dallas’ pick-and-roll heavy approach. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving got to the paint at will, and with the game on the line, Doncic took over in the fourth to guide the Mavericks to victory.

While Minnesota couldn’t find its way in the final few minutes.

Minnesota took a 102-98 lead on an Anthony Edwards triple with 3 minutes, 37 seconds to play, punctuating a 13-1 run that appeared to have the Wolves en route to an impressive comeback victory.

But the offense ran cold from there.

The Wolves went more than three minutes before their next bucket — a Naz Reid putback with 10 seconds to play. In between the buckets were four missed shots and two turnovers. And that was the game.

“No composure,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “It was the same at the end of the first half. We haven’t really closed quarters very well, closed halves very well over the last handful of games. It cost us a game in the Denver series. It certainly had an impact on this game tonight, too. We’ve got to be better in clutch moments.”

As a whole, Mike Conley felt the team looked tired.

“In a sense that we weren’t moving without the ball, we weren’t setting screens, we weren’t getting guys open. We were holding onto the ball a lot. No matter what call we made or set we tried to get into, there was not a lot of energy put into it,” Conley said. “And you can’t effectively run anything without having that energy. We have to find that. We can not be that team that goes three minutes without scoring against a team like Dallas who has guys that are going to come at you and make you pay for it.”

Just like that, Dallas has stolen home court.

Minnesota fell on a night where its two star players — Karl-Anthony Towns and Edwards — struggled to get going offensively.

Towns was 6 for 20 from the field. Edwards was 6 for 16, though he did grab 11 boards to go with eight assists. Still, his defense wasn’t as assertive as it was over the first two postseason series. Perhaps the guard was a bit fatigued after the battle with Denver.

But that’s not an allowable excuse at the moment. The page must be flipped. Especially with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.

While the stars struggled, Minnesota’s role players stepped up in a big way. Jaden McDaniels and Kyle Anderson were a combined 10 for 12 from the floor to start the game. McDaniels finished with 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting, burying six triples.

But Dallas will likely take its chances with those guys knocking down outside shots if it means the big guns aren’t firing on all cylinders. The Mavericks had the opposite, with Doncic and Irving combining for 63 points, while its role players struggled to knock down shots.

But, come winning time, it was Doncic who carried the torch. He finished with 15 points, four rebounds and two steals in the final frame alone. Included in that was a tough, contested triple to cut Dallas’ deficit to one in the final five minutes when it looked like Minnesota — which stormed back from eight down earlier in the quarter — was starting to seize control.

Still, Minnesota had a chance late. Trailing by four with two seconds to play, Conley was fouled on a 3-point attempt, meaning if he could make the first two free throws, he could miss the third intentionally and perhaps the Wolves could make something happen on the glass with their size advantage.

But he missed the second free-throw attempt. It was that kind of night for the Wolves.

Game 2 is Friday at Target Center. The importance of that one is suddenly heightened for Minnesota.

“I think we haven’t been tested like this where we’ve had to trade basket to basket, late-game free-throw situations or fouling situations, stuff that we have to be better at,” Conley said. “But we’ll learn from it. I think each game we’ve learned a lot about ourselves, a lot we can get better at. Obviously, it’s going to be a long series, regardless of what happened tonight.”

Related Articles

Anthony Edwards gets big contract value boost with second-team All-NBA recognition

Minnesota goes all-in on Anthony Edwards’ ‘Bring ya a**’ slogan

Don’t have tickets to Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals? Timberwolves hosting a block party outside the arena

Dallas gives Minnesota a lot to prepare for, and the Timberwolves have little time to do it

Bandwagon? ‘It’s a party bus’: Even hockey fans on board with the Timberwolves

At legal loggerheads with state regulators, operators of the Northern Iron & Machine foundry in St. Paul pulled out of a public meeting scheduled for Wednesday evening with representatives of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and plan instead to complete a court-ordered legal mediation.

The community meeting took place without company representatives from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the East Side YMCA on Arcade Street.

Northern Iron, which was established in St. Paul in 1906, came under new ownership in 2022 and has been under pressure from the MPCA to resolve what the company has described as “a pre-existing air permitting issue” while it attempts to modernize its metal casting plant with new air emissions control equipment. Northern Iron LLC was fined $41,500 by the MPCA last fall for air quality violations and a 15-year history of related problems, such as swapping out air quality control equipment without a permit.

The company, which is owned by the Lawton Standard companies of suburban Green Bay, Wis., was also required to produce updated emissions modeling and apply for a permit amendment. Lead monitoring in the Payne-Phalen area began in April, around the time the MPCA issued an administrative order giving the Forest Street foundry 30 days to reduce emissions and comply with its air quality standards.

Based on preliminary data, the MPCA found that the “foundry is very likely emitting lead and particulate matter at levels above national ambient air quality standards,” reads a statement released last month by the agency.

Company officials say the MPCA’s most recent orders would require a significant reduction in production, which could cost jobs, and requested a temporary injunction against the MPCA last week in Ramsey County District Court. A judge on Tuesday ordered both sides to complete third-party mediation by May 31. The company has maintained that MPCA regulators have violated the terms of a stipulated agreement through their enforcement actions.

The MPCA has installed its own air emissions monitors near the foundry, but Northern Iron maintains that the data from the monitor does not sync with the foundry’s hours of operation and “is inconsistent by day.”

“For the past 18 months, Northern Iron has been working with the MPCA to correct permitting issues that occurred under Northern Iron’s previous ownership,” reads a statement issued by the company Wednesday evening. “Northern Iron has repeatedly met with MPCA staff to address these concerns and find ways to upgrade its facilities and equipment. In 2023, Northern Iron and the MPCA entered into a stipulation agreement that allowed Northern Iron to continue to operate while it upgraded its equipment and continued to meet compliance standards.”

Calls to an MPCA spokesman and a representative of the Payne-Phalen Community Council were not immediately returned Wednesday evening.

Related Articles

Charges: St. Paul school put on lockdown after man tried to get inside, threatened staff with machete

Opponents of University of St. Thomas arena appeal to St. Paul City Council

Minnesota goes all-in on Anthony Edwards’ ‘Bring ya a**’ slogan

Who has the best public parks in the nation? Study: The Twin Cities — and Washington, D.C.

St. Paul student with Down syndrome receives national anti-bullying award

The National Weather Service confirmed that a small tornado touched down in southeastern Minnesota’s Winona County on Tuesday evening.

The EF1 tornado, spawned by the same system that produced deadly twisters in central Iowa, touched down at 6:11 p.m. near Rollingstone, about 9 miles west of Winona.

In an update on Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service office in La Crosse, Wis., said the tornado reached peak wind speeds of around 105 mph.

According to a preliminary storm survey, the tornado started east of St. Charles and intensified as it approached Rollingstone, traveling about 18 miles. The storm dissipated after it went over the Mississippi River into Wisconsin. Two small twisters were also confirmed there.

The Minnesota tornado caused intermittent damage mainly through rural Winona County. Trees and power lines were knocked down, along with a few barns and outbuildings, the storm survey said.

There were no injuries reported.

The storm brought scattered power outages in the Twin Cities as well as 2.33 inches of rain.

Related Articles

Minnesota goes all-in on Anthony Edwards’ ‘Bring ya a**’ slogan

Anoka settles federal complaint that city violates rights of mentally ill renters with anti-crime law

Weather hampers search for 2 canoeists missing in Boundary Waters after waterfalls plunge

Cambridge couple stranded in Brazil with premature newborn finally ‘able to get our little guy home’

Bandwagon? ‘It’s a party bus’: Even hockey fans on board with the Timberwolves