Game Preview #75 – Timberwolves at Mavericks

Minnesota Timberwolves at Dallas Mavericks
Date: March 30th, 2026
Time: 7:30 PM CDT
Location: American Airlines Center
Television Coverage: FanDuel Sports Network – North
Radio Coverage: KFAN FM, Wolves App, iHeart Radio

There are games in the NBA where you squint at the injury report, notice the early tip, and quietly tell yourself that it might just not be your day. Saturday’s contest against Detroit had all the makings of one of those games, and for the Minnesota Timberwolves, it pretty much played out exactly that way.

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For the Wolves, it was no Anthony Edwards, no Ayo Dosunmu, and to round things out, no Jaden McDaniels after the injury he picked up late in that chaos-fueled Houston game. Three core pieces. Gone.

On the other side, the Detroit Pistons, the Eastern Conference’s top team, were missing their own engine in Cade Cunningham. So in theory, this game could’ve been a competitive “who has more left in the tank?” grind-it-out afternoon game. Instead, it turned into something much simpler.

Minnesota just didn’t have enough.

The Moment the Game Slipped—and Never Came Back

The Wolves actually started this one the right way. The defensive energy was there early. Rotations were sharp enough. They hung around, traded punches, and for a brief stretch, it looked like they might be able to piece together one of those undermanned, “everyone chips in” performances that they’d been stringing together over the past week.

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And then Rudy Gobert subbed out.

That was it. That was the hinge point.

Because the second he hit the bench, the defensive resistance, everything that had been holding this thing together, just evaporated. Driving lanes opened up. The rim stopped feeling protected. Detroit got comfortable, and once they got comfortable, they started building a lead that never really felt in danger again.

The Offense: When the Shots Don’t Fall, There’s No Plan B

Let’s be honest about what this game really came down to: the Wolves couldn’t hit anything.

They finished shooting 32% from the field, went 9-for-43 from three (21%), and scored 87 total points.

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In the…

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Publish date : 2026-03-29 20:26:00

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