Trash-talking Timberwolves fan is to blame for Luka Doncic masterclass

Home fans always play some kind of role in how a game progresses. A rowdy crowd can lift up their team while intimidating the opponent. But one bit of trash talk can also be highly motivating to some of the special players that make the NBA their home.

The Minnesota Timberwolves got that lesson in the first quarter of Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. It sure looked like someone in the crowd was giving Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic all the added motivation he could muster.

Doncic went off for 20 points in the opening quarter. He outscored the Timberwolves while going 4-of-6 from 3-point range and 8-11 from the field.

You simply won't see a more dominant quarter than that. And the Mavericks really may have a Timberwolves fan to thank for all that.

According to Ben Golliver of The Washington Post, "A Target Center fan was waving a handkerchief at Luka Doncic early in the first quarter, apparently in reference to him crying for fouls. Doncic saw him and smiled, and now he keeps looking to the fan's side of court during this early 20-point flurry."

UPDATE: NSFW audio from the third quarter all but confirmed Golliver's account was very correct.

"Who's crying mother*****?" Doncic told the fan quite audibly on the TNT broadcast.

NBA Twitter ripped into that fan for setting off the Mavericks star.

Best memes and tweets after Timberwolves fan fires up Luka Doncic

Doncic and the Mavericks have broken hearts in Minnesota three times in this series already, turning losses into victories in the waning minutes. Dallas won the first three games, including two at Target Center, behind 30-point showing from Doncic in particular.

He was more than halfway to that mark after just one quarter. Locked in Luka is a sight to behold.

Game 5 is do-or-die for the Timberwolves, who entered down 3-1 in the series. Doncic looks determined to make sure their season dies regardless of how hard they fight.