MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA — After playing well to close out the season, the Mavericks got clipped on finale night losing to the Timberwolves 136-121.
The Mavericks had the best record over a 15 game span than any other team in the NBA entering tonight. They have played lights out to close out the season and the pieces fell perfectly in their favor. Even with a loss tonight Dallas would only drop down to the sixth seed in the playoff race, and it’s great to have a sense of security but building momentum leading into the postseason is priority despite being granted a minor break before the playoffs kickoff.
The Timberwolves are just a team that’s trying to finish the season on a good note even though they will not have a chance to compete in the postseason, but in reality they held the fate to which seeding the Mavericks would have going into the playoffs.
The Timberwolves proved how uncomfortable they could make it for the Mavericks in the first quarter getting out ahead early. Minnesota found success from all over the floor shooting 52% on 13 out of 25 shots. The Mavericks on the other hand shot 39% from the field and didn’t hit a shot from beyond the arc in the first quarter missing all of their 7 attempts. Jalen Brunson, Josh Richardson, Tim Hardaway Jr, and Dwight Powell converted 58% of their shots while the rest of their team converted on 25% of their shots.
Who knows? Maybe the Mavericks just overlooked this game to start because of their security, but they set a bad tone and allowed the Timberwolves to take a commanding 38-22 lead to end the first quarter.
Either the Mavericks have been great in the first quarter which leads to wins or terrible in the first quarter which mostly translates into losses, and there is no in between. Typically in those games the Mavericks production becomes together later than expected which doesn’t help their cause. That was true again tonight. Dallas did find success from the three point line converting on 7 out of 13 shots from the beyond the arc. Anytime the Mavericks would score the Timberwolves would score and there is simply no way to comeback in a game if you can’t make a stop on defense.
The Mavericks finished the first half trailing the Timberwolves by 15 points after shooting 60% from the field, and because of the efficient night Minnesota was having, it hindered the Mavericks chances of bringing the lead within reach.
The Mavericks were exceptional from the field in the third quarter and shot 61% from the field but the lead margin shifted more in the Timberwolves favor and Minnesota showed zero sign of easing their foot off the neck of the Mavericks. After having a slow start in the first half scoring only 4 points, Luka Doncic put on a show scoring 14 points and Kristaps Porzingis who only scored 8 points in the first half scored 10 points attempting to give the Mavericks the push they needed, but never put a dent in the Timberwolves lead. Dallas finished the quarter with a better shooting percentage than Minnesota shooting 61% from the field, but the lead the Timberwolves established was firm and the Mavericks were working with very little time to turn it around.
Like the first three quarters the Mavericks were caught playing catch up and went into the final quarter of the regular season trailing the Timberwolves 95-113.
Knowing that the game was more than likely out of reach, Rick Carlisle pulled Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis and allowed the other players in the lineup to get the bulk of the minutes. Yes, every game is about winning, but at this juncture in the final game of the season, trailing your opponent by double digits, experience can be just as valuable as winning. Nicolo Melli was a player that took advantage of that time and scored 5 points off the bench.
After playing from behind for most of the game, the Mavericks never could find a way to slow down the Timberwolves on the offensive end. A very sour note to going into the postseason. The good news is this team has some time to get over this loss and focus on what is ahead. But for the moment this Mavericks team should relish in the fact that they overcame many obstacles to reach this point in the season to clinch the 5th seed in the Western conference after an up and down season.
