Former Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford and the Dallas Mavericks are now just three wins away from advancing to the NBA Finals.
Dallas, the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, on Wednesday stole Game 1 of the conference finals, beating the No. 3 seed Minnesota Timberwolves 108-105. And Gafford aided the Mavericks in the road win.
Dallas star Luke Dončić had a game-high 33 points.
In more than 21 minutes on the floor, Gafford nearly tallied a double-double with 10 points on 5 of 9 from the floor and 9 rebounds. Four of his rebounds came on the offensive end.
Gafford, who had eight third-quarter points, and Dončić flashed multiple times in pick-and-roll actions. Four of the forward’s five scores were dunks assisted by Dončić or guard Kyrie Irving.
After Wednesday’s game, Gafford is averaging 8.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this postseason. He’s adding 1.4 blocks as well.
First-year Arkansas coach John Calipari has a pair of former Kentucky standouts who are key figures in the series in the Wolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns and Dallas’ PJ Washington.
Towns finished with 16 points on 6 of 20 from the field, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. He knocked down just 2 of 9 three-point looks.
Washington, in a team-high 40:50 on the floor, scored 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting, grabbed 7 rebounds and rejected 2 shots. He was 2 of 8 from deep.