3 thoughts as the Mavericks get their doors blown off, 133-94, at the Minnesota Timberwolves

The Dallas Mavericks (7-5) embarked on a three-game road trip with the first stop in Minnesota to take on the Wolves Thursday night. Entering on a three-game winning streak, the Mavericks couldn’t get to four-straight as they lost 133-94.

The game got off to a shaky start, with Daniel Gafford committing a foul seven seconds in and Cooper Flagg tweaking his ankle less than 30 seconds later when he came down on Rudy Gobert’s foot after attempting a shot. The Mavs settled in behind Caleb Martin getting some early reps at point guard and doing a fine job keeping the offense flowing. Gafford’s second foul resulted in Morez Johnson, Jr. checking in, looking no worse for wear after missing a game due to injury. It was a tight game throughout, but with two minutes remaining in the frame, Minnesota peeled off a 12-0 scoring run, good for an eight-point lead (34-26).

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The Mavs locked in to begin the second quarter and had a 7-0 run to draw closer. Naji Marshall, Zaccharie Risacher and Santi Aldama were a big part of Dallas pulling to within a point, but the Wolves responded quickly and got out to their largest lead of the game (14) with just over two minutes remaining in the half. Kyrie Irving nailed a cold-blooded three that made you think a run was coming, but the Wolves had other ideas. Dallas was down 67-52 at halftime.

Dallas has been good at making halftime adjustments this season. They clearly had a plan to attack the rim, with Flagg getting to the line on the first possession. Free throws were a welcome sight after neither team attempted even a single one in the second quarter. The plan was foiled almost instantly, however, with the Wolves jumping the lead to 24 points within the first three minutes of the quarter, at one point having connected on 22 of their prior 30 shots. Another blink of the eyes and this one was all but over. The Wolves looked significantly fresher than the Mavs, with everything looking very easy for the former and very difficult for the latter. The Mavs spent much of the remainder of the third quarter down by 30 or more points before limping into the fourth quarter down…

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Publish date : 2026-11-13 03:30:00

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