The Mavericks they suffered to win at home to the Timberwolves by 110-108 in a game in which the two starting centers, Dwight Powell and Karl-Anthony Towns, were the top scorers for their teams and the star of Dallas, Luca Doncic, had a discreet night with only 15 points. Powell at the Mavs and Towns at the Wolves each had 22 points and 8 rebounds. Towns dished out 3 assists, one more than Powell. For the Mavericks, all five starters (Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Powell, Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock) along with Spencer Dinwiddie, who started the game off the bench, scored more than 10 points. Doncic had a double double with his 15 points and 10 assists, in addition to 6 rebounds, while Dinwiddie had 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. For the Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists while D’Angelo Russell had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Wolves arrived at the American Airlines Center in Dallas in their prime of the season. The Minnesota team is, along with the Boston Celtics, the most fit team in the NBA since the All-Star game, played last February 20, with 11 wins and 3 losses, including Monday night against the Mavs. In their previous four games, the Wolves have defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat.
wolves on the rise
Its good performance in recent weeks has allowed the Minnesota team to be in seventh place in the Western Conference, one step away from sixth place, which guarantees direct passage to the play-offs. For their part, the Mavs, the fifth best team in the NBA since the All-Star with 9 wins and 4 losses, are in fifth place in the Western Conference and have a shot at the Utah Jazz, fourth in the table.
In the first quarter, the lead on the scoreboard changed seven times, without either team being able to find a rhythm in defense or attack. Doncic, who scored 37 points in the previous game against the Charlotte Hornets, had trouble finding space and shooting. The Slovenian finished the first 12 minutes without a single point, after shooting a triple, a field goal and two free throws. It was precisely Powell who saved the Dallas team with his 9 points in the first quarter while Russell, with 2 triples from 3 attempts and 10 points in total, was the most effective of the Wolves in the period that ended with the visitors ahead. , 23-29.
The Mavs bounce back
In the second quarter, with Doncic on the bench, the Mavs began to slowly chip away at the Wolves’ lead with better defense over Russell and Towns. When Doncic returned to the court with 6 minutes remaining, the Mavs were already ahead on the scoreboard, 40-36, thanks to the success of Dinwiddie and Powell. Going into halftime, the Mavericks were 6 points ahead, 60-54, and Doncic had unstuck his wrist with 7 points, including a 3-pointer. In the early stages of the third quarter, the Dallas team reached its maximum advantage, 16 points, 70-54, but the Wolves once again tightened their defense and took better advantage of Towns’ corpulence inside and Edwards’ athleticism. By the end of the third quarter, the visitors had cut the Dallas lead to 5 points, 86-81and threatened to cause the Mavericks their third straight loss.
In the fourth quarter, the Wolves kept up the pressure and the Mavs, without Doncic’s usual effectiveness, saw their victory in jeopardy. With 4:36 remaining, the Wolves tied the game 99-99 on Patrick Beverly’s 3-pointer, and a few seconds later they were up 100-101. After placing the score at 100-103, the reaction of those from Dallas arrived. Doncic took the lead but this time it was Finney-Smith and Bullock who executed while on the Wolves, Beverly was doing her best to spoil Dallas’ party, including deliberately shooting a free throw at the rim to try and get some extra points. But in the end, neither Beverly nor the rest of the Wolves could and the Mavs prevailed 110-108 at home.