DALLAS, Texas — The Dallas Mavericks played their first game at the American Airlines Center since early March. The energy was evident and the only thing missing from the American Airlines Center were the passionate Maverick faithful. The Mavericks impressed on both ends of the floor and gave the Timberwolves trouble all night long, but The Mavericks struggled to hold leads periodically throughout the game.
Dallas got off to a fast start on the night building an early 10 point lead enforcing their dominance as the Timberwolves struggled to find their footing. The Timberwolves eventually flipped the switch and closed the gap and tied the game with just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter and before you know it the Timberwolves were leading the Mavericks 37-33 when time expired.
Karl Anthony Towns was one of the reasons why the Timberwolves were able to stop the Mavericks lead from growing, and finished the quarter with 12 points, and Timberwolves 1st overall pick Anthony Edwards began to get it going late as well dropping two 3 pointers and racked up 11 points before the clock hit zero on the 1st quarter.
Luka Doncic had a decent 1st quarter but couldn’t find his rhythm from the three point line going 0-4 from behind the arc. Doncic still contributed mostly with his playmaking ability. Tim Hardaway Jr was on the receiving end of Luka’s dimes scoring twice off of Doncic assists. Hardaway heated up quickly and finished the first quarter with 10 points hitting 3 of his 4 shots from the floor, which was just the beginning of a stellar night from Hardaway who finished the night with 18 points.
Some members from the “Bench Mob” got some early action to start the 2nd quarter, and quickly began to bring the Mavericks back from the deficit they faced at the end of the 1st. James Johnson blocked Malik Beasley’s shot, which led to a two Trey Burke free throws to get the Mavs on the board in the 2nd quarter. Johnson then converted a shot on the other end of the floor.
The Mavericks began to close the gap approaching the end of the second quarter and eventually took a 68-61 lead.
Dallas continued to show how lethal they could be from the three point line shooting 54% from the three point line, and shot 48% from the field, and continued to showcase their defensive prowess. The Mavericks forced a total of 8 turnovers and held the Timberwolves to a 45% field goal percentage and 40% from three.
Tim Hardaway Jr finished the first half leading the Mavs in scoring with 16 points and finished the half shooting 80% from behind the arc. Despite a slow start in the first quarter Luka Doncic finished with 15 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds. Maxi Kleber made his contributions off the bench, scoring 11 points and shooting 75% from the field. Several things were going right for the Mavericks at the end of the first half and that trend continued through the second half.
Minnesota began the third quarter at a solid pace, but slowed down quickly once Karl Anthony Towns got into foul trouble. Anthony-Towns committed 3 personal fouls in the first half and by mid way through the third quarter he committed his 5th foul and was sidelined for the majority of the night leaving the Timberwolves with limited options.
Dallas took advantage and developed a 15 point lead leading the Timberwolves 98-85 going into the fourth quarter.
Things quickly changed as the Timberwolves fought back. Minnesota turned lemons into lemonade converting rebounds into points and began to pressure Dallas defensively leading to the Timberwolves tying things up, forcing overtime.
Minnesota took an early lead in the overtime period after a Jarrett Culver 3 and converting 3 free throws after being fouled on the play, but Dallas was still in arms length of taking the lead. Josh Green was able to put the game within 3 points after hitting a big time 3 point shot with less than 2 minutes to go, but the Mavericks ultimately fell short and lost 129-127 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Mavericks finish the preseason with a record of 2-1, and have shown a great deal of potential. Although we have only seen a small sample size, the players on this team have shown how much well they have gelled as a team and as a unit. The sky’s the limit for this Mavericks team that will continue to get better once Kristap Porzingis returns.
