After a disappointing defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, the Minnesota Timberwolves had a great opportunity to get back into the win column at home on Thursday night. Hosting a short-handed Dallas Mavericks team on the second night of a back-to-back was just what the Timberwolves needed.
With no Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving, Minnesota was able to overcome any attempted heroics from Dallas. Proceeding to win the game by a score of 118-110, the Timberwolves continued an impressive streak. The Wolves still have yet to lose two consecutive games this season, the only team in the association to accomplish this feat. Here are our three instant takeaways from the Timberwolves win over the short-handed Mavericks.
Timberwolves start the game strong
Minnesota opened the game up in complete control. Pulling out to an early 11-3 lead, Mavs’ coach Jason Kidd took a quick timeout. The Wolves showed no signs of slowing down though in the first quarter. Scoring 37 points, the Timberwolves jumped all over a seemingly lifeless Mavericks team without their two best players. This first quarter showing is a great sign for the Timberwolves who have tended to coast a bit out of the gate this season.
Through the first half, the Timberwolves held a five point advantage as Dallas battled back. The Timberwolves did a great job, however, halting some of these Dallas runs. Anthony Edwards fueled the Timberwolves first half efforts with 22 points on impressive 7-9 shooting. Edwards’ three first-half three-pointers contributed to Minnesota’s 10-14 (71.4%) shooting behind the arc in the first half. At the break, the Timberwolves were shooting 60% from the field with all nine players scoring at least one bucket.
Rudy Gobert dominates
While rookie center Dereck Lively II has been great for Dallas to begin his promising career, Rudy Gobert completely dominated the center matchup. As to be expected, the multi-time All-Star owned the Mavericks on the glass finishing with a game-high 11 rebounds. Gobert impacted the game outside of just rebounding the ball.
Gobert’s rim pressure coupled with timely passing led to a perfect shooting performance on the night. Finishing 7-7 from the field, Gobert poured in 20 points. Thursday night marked the seven-footer’s 19th double-double of the season.
Gobert continued to add to his Defensive Player of the Year campaign against the Mavs. Finishing with three blocks on the night, Gobert’s rim protection aided in sustaining the Wolves league-best defense. With the Timberwolves at the top of the league on that end of the floor, Gobert’s role as the anchor certainly places him in position to contend for his fourth DPOY award, which would tie Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo for the most times winning the award.
Anthony Edwards’ brilliance shines again
On a night where the Mavericks were without Doncic and Irving, the disparity in top end talent was obvious in favor of Minnesota. Edwards built off his first half performance in stellar fashion. The Wolves’ star guard doubled his scoring output up to 44 points through thrilling shot-making.
Edwards nailed six triples on the night as he out-dueled Dallas late. His 12-23 shooting on the night was pivotal in leading the Wolves to an efficient offensive performance despite an inexcusable 22 team turnovers.
Ant found his way to the free throw line on multiple occasions. Attempting a remarkable 18 free throws on the night and connecting on 14 of them. Edwards’ production as a scorer will continue to skyrocket as he leverages his athletic gifts into trips to the free throw line. Like many other superstars in the NBA, Edwards will trend toward the illustrious 30 PPG club by asserting himself downhill and drawing contact on his rim drives.
With the Timberwolves holding on to a close, yet convincing, win over the Mavericks, they look to start a new winning streak. The Lakers roll into town on Saturday for a rematch with Minnesota. The Timberwolves won their last meeting as the Lakers were without LeBron James on the second night of a back-to-back. Saturday will be a good battle between two good, experienced teams.
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