In a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night, it was the Dallas Mavericks that once again got the better of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Led by 35 points from Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks took a 120-114 victory as they managed to overcome a scoring barrage from Anthony Edwards to begin the game.

For the Timberwolves, it was more of the same story for them on the defensive end of the floor against a Mavericks team that knows how to solve the team's usual brand of lockdown defense. Head coach Chris Finch admitted that it's their defense that was to blame for this defeat — their second of the new campaign in four games.

“The defense has to be a lot better,” Finch said following the game, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

With Rudy Gobert anchoring the paint, the Timberwolves should already have a leg up on the opposition on most nights in this regard. Alas, the Mavericks have the countermeasure to help dampen Gobert's impact. In the first quarter, the Mavs relied on their transition game to get some easy buckets, with Daniel Gafford profiting off of his diligence in running the floor, and then the Timberwolves fell asleep on a few rotations later on in the game that allowed the Mavericks to establish a lead that they would not relinquish.

Through the first four games of the season, the Timberwolves have a middling defensive rating of 112.9 — allowing 4.5 more points per 100 possessions than last season. Now, they faced three playoff-caliber teams during this span, but there's also room for Finch's men to improve on that end of the floor.

The Mavericks appear to have the Timberwolves' number

In sports, there is the existence of bad matchups that arise from a team's specific style of play. The Timberwolves know this all too well. Despite having the blueprint of how to dethrone the Denver Nuggets last season, they ran into their hard counter in the Mavericks.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are two unstoppable scoring forces, and they can run wild when playing one on one. And now, with the addition of Klay Thompson, the Timberwolves have little in the way of reprieve, as they cannot help off of Thompson at all.

But at the very least, the Timberwolves still have an entire season ahead of them to work out the kinks on defense as they look to integrate Julius Randle into the mix.