The Minnesota Timberwolves took on the Dallas Mavericks Sunday night with hopes of restarting a winning streak. A matchup headlined by star talent, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns squared off with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Ant and KAT combined for an impressive 60 points on the night, but it wasn’t enough. Doncic and Irving out-dueled the Wolves’ duo as Dallas’ stars poured in a total of 69 points and 13 assists.

The Mavericks went on a 15-2 run to end the game, highlighting a lack of Timberwolves’ execution despite having a lead with just a couple minutes to go. Anthony Edwards was not happy postgame and expressed his frustration with the Timberwolves play to end the game.

“I feel like, once again, I left bullets in the chamber. But I’ll take this one, for sure. I gotta be aggressive down the stretch.”

Down the stretch, the Timberwolves did generate some good opportunities, but some open misses by Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels left Minnesota with empty clutch-time possessions. Edwards’ frustration rang clearly and even took blame as the star guard attempted just one shot in the final three minutes of game time.

“I need to take them motherf**kers with two minutes left on the clock. That’s on me, though. I gotta be better. I gotta be more aggressive.”

Timberwolves' late game mistakes

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns with head coach Chris Finch in front of the Target Center.

Coming into Sunday’s game, Anthony Edwards ranked 19th in the entire NBA in fourth quarter scoring. Shooting over 48% from the field in fourth quarters, Ant has proven time and time again to be a clutch performer. With signature moments in wins over the Celtics, Heat and Lakers this season, it felt like Edwards was due for one in Dallas.

Edwards’ NSFW message displays a greater problem within the Timberwolves plan of attack. With 36 points on the night, Minnesota failed to get him the ball in open space. While Minnesota did get some open looks, it’s easy to blame the lack of attempts for Edwards as a reason the Wolves came up short. A growing theme on the season, finding ways to keep Edwards involved despite constant double teams is still a work in progress.

Postgame, head coach Chris Finch took ownership of the late game meltdown. When asked what went wrong late in the game, Finch kept it honest:

“Bad offense. A couple turnovers that cost us… Some rushed shots. I gotta do a better job. I gotta get the ball in Mike [Conley’s] hands at that point in time like I’d been doing all season.”

Finch’s sentiment is 100% accurate. Late in games this season, Minnesota has trended toward Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert working together in the pick and roll. Their chemistry through years of playing together has been invaluable for Minnesota in closing out games. While that is a great weapon to go to, it can’t be the only form of good Wolves’ offense late game.

Timberwolves' positives to build off of

Rudy Gobert with a text bubble saying “I can do it all” and Naz Reid smiling. In front of Target Center

While the loss in Dallas Sunday night is a disappointing one, there are a ton of positives to build from. Outside of Edwards' stellar 36 point performance, Minnesota found production from other key pieces. Naz Reid continued his great campaign with a 15 point, nine rebound night. Connecting on seven of his 12 shot attempts, Reid was the third-highest scorer for the Wolves. His production as Minnesota’s sixth man has been vital for the Wolves’ bench unit all season.

While Gobert only finished with nine points, his impact was still enormous. Grabbing a monstrous 17 rebounds, the seven-footer’s work on the glass was crucial in powering the Wolves to 51 team rebounds on the night. 18 of those 51 rebounds came on the offensive end. In the seven point loss, Gobert was the only Timberwolves player to end the game with a positive plus-minus.

The Timberwolves will look to get back into the win column Tuesday night as the team will take on the Orlando Magic for their third game of this four game road trip. Currently 1-1 in this short stretch, a win on Tuesday guarantees that the Wolves draw even during this trip. After Orlando, they face the Boston Celtics on Wednesday before retuning home. Now at 25-10 on the year, the Wolves hold a very narrow lead in the Western Conference despite their strong play all season.