Mavericks beat Timberwolves in Minnesota to even season record to .500

Heading into halftime, the game was even with Minnesota having a 52-51 lead. The Dallas Mavericks head coach, Jason Kidd, was not happy with the transition defense that the Mavs were showing and believed way too many turnovers were holding back the team from taking a lead. Second half was a tale of two halves. Superstar Luka Doncic ended the game with 25 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds. Mavericks have lacked a complimentary player to help Luka in games like this. Tonight, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 21 points; Spencer Dinwiddie contributed with 19 points, 4 rebounds and shot 4 for 8 from three-point range. Christian Wood was equally efficient scoring 12 points.

Jason Kidd knew that the 2nd half was going to determine the outcome of the game. “You could see the improvement for our team coming down the stretch. Luka made some big shots, not just 3s but being able to play in the midrange. Then being the quarterback, being able to trust his guys to be able to deliver by making shots.”

The Timberwolves had contributions from Anthony Edwards with 23 points, but did not make a 3-point shot, Austin Rivers contributed 21 points, and Rudy Gobert impressively grabbed 15 rebounds with 19 points made. Ultimately, the Mavericks had a major 2nd half to beat the Timberwolves 104-99.

Next for the Mavericks will be a road game in Houston against a Rockets team that has a record of 9-22. Timberwolves travel to Boston to take on a very stout defense in the Celtics on Friday night.