Mavs and Stars advance to Western Conference finals
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The Stars and the Mavericks advanced to their respective Western Conference finals in thrilling Game 6 wins during the weekend.
Why it matters: Dallas sports fans will have playoff games to watch for at least two more weeks.
The latest: The Mavericks will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 on Wednesday. The Wolves overcame a halftime deficit to defeat the Denver Nuggets last night in Game 7 of the semifinals.
- The Stars will face the winner of tonight's Game 7 between the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
State of play: The Stars head to the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row. They were knocked out last year by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights.
- The Mavs last went to the NBA Western Conference Finals in 2022, when they lost the series to the Golden State Warriors, who went on to win the championship.
What happened: The Stars won 2-1 over the Colorado Avalanche in double overtime in a game that continued into early Saturday.
- Matt Duchene scored the winning goal after being involved earlier in a no-goal after the refs ruled he interfered with the goalkeeper.
- The Mavs overcame a 17-point third-quarter deficit to top the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-116 Saturday night — with Dirk Nowitzki in the crowd.
What we're watching: How the days off help the teams. The Stars were missing Roope Hintz in the last two games of the semifinals.
- And, star Luka Dončić has been playing through injuries.
What's next: The Mavs' Game 1 is 7:30pm Wednesday in Minnesota.
- The Stars play at 7:30pm Thursday at home.
- Both series will be broadcast on TNT.