Tonight’s game was fairly straightforward: the Wolves are a good team, and the Mavericks are not. The Timberwolves dominated the Mavericks tonight, 120-96 in Minnesota, capitalizing on the Mavericks’ fatigue
following their long and grueling double-overtime win against the Portland Trail Blazers at home on Sunday night. The Mavericks basically stood no chance tonight, getting dominated in every statistical category. They got outshot in every category except for the free-throw line. They got out-rebounded by almost 20, out-assisted by almost 15, turned the ball over more times, and did not even score 100 points in Monday’s loss.
The game started as an evenly matched game with both teams starting united, sharing the ball amongst themselves, and splitting the scoring load on both sides. The Mavericks rode PJ Washington and Cooper Flagg in the first quarter until D’Angelo Russell’s minutes happened. Almost immediately after Russell checked in, the Mavericks gave up a huge run, scoring only two baskets during the final six minutes of the quarter, which started when Russell checked in. The Mavericks finished the quarter down 13 and were trying to play catch-up from there on out.
The second quarter was basically the same. The Mavericks opened the second quarter battling from behind, with Brandon Williams and P.J. Washington carrying the offensive load to keep Dallas competitive despite Minnesota’s early surge. Williams attacked downhill, drew multiple fouls, and hit mid-range shots, while Washington consistently generated points through drives, a hook shot, and perfect trips to the free-throw line. A key momentum shift came midway through the period when D’Angelo Russell sparked a 6–0 run with back-to-back layups, briefly cutting the deficit to single digits and giving Dallas its strongest stretch of the quarter. However, turnovers and difficulty finishing at the rim prevented the Mavericks from sustaining the push, allowing Minnesota to respond with timely buckets from Naz Reid and Anthony Edwards. The Wolves pushed their lead to 17 at halftime, effectively ending the game.
The Mavericks showed effort throughout the second half, with Brandon Williams, Cooper Flagg, P.J. Washington, Jaden Hardy, and Moussa Cisse providing most of the scoring, but the game swung out of reach almost immediately in the third quarter. Minnesota exploded with threes from DiVincenzo and McDaniels, plus dominant interior play from Gobert, turning a manageable deficit into a 20–30 point lead within minutes. Dallas had brief momentum bursts, Flagg finishing inside, Williams attacking the rim, and Hardy heating up late, but every push was quickly answered by Wolves baskets in transition or off offensive rebounds. By the middle of the third, the lead had grown so large that the competitive portion of the game was essentially over. Let’s get into the numbers.
3: 1st quarter turnovers for D’Angelo Russell
D’Angelo Russell’s first quarter minutes practically cost the Mavericks the game from the jump. Russell checked in and had a turnover on the second offensive possession that he was in for. He followed it up with two quick baskets, which were nice, but then had another turnover and took and missed two terrible three-point shots. About two or three possessions later, Russell had a possession where he threw the ball away and then got a loss-of-ball foul, resulting in two free throws for the Wolves. Russell finished the quarter with four points and three turnovers, no assists, as he was responsible for the only two field goals that occurred during his time on the court.
Russell simply has to step up if the Mavericks want to win games. They have been looking for any kind of leadership and consistency from the guard position, especially with Kyrie Irving out. Since the season has started, the Mavericks have practically benched Russell for the likes of Brandon Williams, who was on a two-way contract just a season ago. Russell has also not been helping Cooper Flagg develop, while the rest of the veterans are often hurt, looking to get their own buckets when they play together. Flagg and Russell have played 177 minutes together, and Russell has only assisted Flagg five times in that time. The 10-year veteran has been unacceptably bad to start the year for the Mavericks and has been a significant reason for the team’s poor offense, not contributing to the Mavs’ future. His role in this team and in this franchise seems meaningless.
22: Naz Reid points
Naz Reid destroyed the Mavericks tonight, making it a point to attack the Mavs’ undersized front court with Derrick Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and Anthony Davis out. Reid abused everyone who matched up with him, going right after the likes of PJ Washington, Naji Marshall, and Cooper Flagg. He got whatever he wanted, especially attacking the paint. He went 6-for-8 inside the painted area tonight.
The Mavericks came into the season thinking their identity would be their stifling defense, specifically around the rim and in the paint, with the size and length the Mavs possess. Even when healthy, the Mavericks have not utilized their size and length to the best of their ability, giving up 50 points in the paint per game as a team, which is essentially league average. That, along with their mediocre offense, is not a good combination to win games.
-15: Caleb Martin’s plus/minus through the first 3 quarters
The Mavericks found themselves without any of their big men tonight, forcing them to start Moussa Cisse and bring in Dwight Powell early, while they were still in the game. Both centers picked up three fouls each by the middle of the second quarter, forcing Jason Kidd to go small and use Caleb Martin at center tonight. Let’s just say that the experiment failed miserably.
Before the garbage time fourth quarter, Caleb Martin played only five total minutes yet was somehow a resounding minus-15 through the first three quarters of the game. It takes a special kind of bad to go minus-15 in five minutes, including the fact that he went minus-13 in his first three minutes in the first quarter. Martin was acquired at the last trade deadline for Quinten Grimes, who is currently lighting it up for the Philadelphia 76ers. Martin is tough to watch, as he contributes nothing, and we traded a player we could really use right now for him.
12: Mavericks missed free throws
The Mavericks missed 12 free throws tonight after missing 13 last night in their double-overtime win against Portland. In a blowout, this does not matter as much, but it is simply unacceptable for a team of professional basketball players at the highest level to be missing 10-plus free throws every night. As simple as that sounds, the Mavericks absolutely need every free point they can get for an offense as bad as the Mavericks. The Mavericks have a lot to figure out, improve, and become a winning basketball team. Doing little things like making free throws at a high level will give them immediate help.
