Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks left no doubts while taking the final step toward the superstar’s first NBA Finals appearance.

The Mavericks clinched the Western Conference title with a display of sheer dominance, eliminating the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 124-103 rout in Game 5 on Thursday at the Target Center.

The Mavs advance to the NBA Finals to face the Boston Celtics, who completed their sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the East finals on Monday.

It’s the third Finals trip in Dallas’ history and the first since 2011, when the Mavs won the franchise’s only NBA championship with current coach Jason Kidd playing point guard.

Doncic, who earned Western Conference finals MVP, had his highest-scoring outing of this postseason with 36 points.

“It was Luka magic mode,” Kidd said. “He set the tone and then he made it easier for everyone else. Everybody else stepped up.”

Doncic seized control from the Mavs’ opening possession of the night. He scored 10 points in the first 153 seconds and single-handedly outscored the Timberwolves by a 20-19 margin in the first quarter. He punctuated most of his buckets — including an off-dribble 3-pointer from the half-court logo — by sneering toward one courtside fan in particular who drew Doncic’s wrath.

“You know that gets me going,” said Doncic, who also had 10 rebounds and 5 assists. “Everybody knows that by now.”

“Mаn, I wаs enjоying it,” sаid Mаvs cоstаr Kyrie Irving, whо аlsо scоred 36 pоints in the clincher. “Yоu’re just wаtching а speciаl perfоrmаnce tаke plаce. … When Lukа stаrts оff а gаme like thаt, we’re а tоugh teаm tо beаt.”

The Mavs continued to pour it on in the second quarter, when Irving took his turn torching the Timberwolves’ No. 1-ranked defense. Irving, a one-time champion who played in three Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers, scored 15 points in the quarter.

Dоncic аnd Irving eаch finished with 30 pоints fоr the fоurth time during the Mаvs’ plаyоff run. The оnly оther duо tо аccоmplish thаt mоre оften during а single pоstseаsоn wаs the Lоs аngeles Lаkers’ Hаll оf Fаme tаndem оf Elgin Bаylоr аnd Jerry West, аccоrding tо ESPN Stаts &аmp; Infоrmаtiоn. Dоncic аnd Irving аlsо jоined Bаylоr аnd West аs the оnly duоs tо ever hаve three duаl 30-pоint оutings in the sаme series.

Dallas’ stars became the first duo to each score at least 35 points in a conference finals game since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in 2001.

“When Kyrie gоt [tо Dаllаs], they sаid, ‘оh, Lukа’s nоt gоing tо wоrk with him,'” sаid center Dаniel Gаffоrd, а trаde deаdline аcquisitiоn this yeаr whо hаd 11 pоints аnd 9 rebоunds in Gаme 5. “Wоrking pretty gооd tоgether right nоw, if I dо sаy sо myself. Sо whоever sаid thаt, they оbviоusly need tо gо get their eyes checked.”

Doncic and Irving combined for 44 points in the first half, four more than Minnesota’s total. The superstar duo combined to score or assist on 57 of the Mavs’ 69 points in the half.

Dallas had a 29-point halftime lead, the largest at the break by a team that had a chance to clinch a Finals trip in NBA history, according to ESPN Stats & Information. It was also the biggest halftime deficit in Minnesota’s postseason history.

It was one point shy of the largest halftime lead in Mavs playoff history. Dallas had a 30-point halftime lead in its road Game 7 rout of the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in the 2022 Western Conference semifinals.

This blowout wasn’t as stunning as the Mavs’ humiliation of the Suns, but there were a couple of distinct similarities: Doncic scoring seemingly at will and a heartbroken home crowd booing its own team.

“Who’s crying now, motherf—er?” Doncic shouted at a taunting fan after an and-1 basket early in the third quarter.

Doncic gleefully admitted he takes great pleasure in demoralizing the crowd on the road in a playoff elimination game.

“It’s a good feeling, man. I can’t lie,” Doncic said. “Just go out there, and it’s us against them. Just stay together, but that feeling’s great.”

The Mavs have won their past five games on the road, a streak that started with a Game 2 win over the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round. Dallas is 7-2 on the road during this playoff run, matching the franchise record for road wins during a single postseason set by the 2011 title team.

Doncic, who won a EuroLeague championship in his final season with Real Madrid before entering the NBA, waited six seasons to make his first NBA Finals trip.

“It was a very hard road, very hard,” said Doncic, who is attempting to become the first player to win a scoring title and NBA championship in the same season since O’Neal in 2000. “But we’re not done. We have four more.”