Mavs get a split with hard-fought 104-99 win over Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS – That spirited practice session the Dallas Mavericks had on Tuesday must have had a lot of spunk to it and paid off handsomely on Wednesday night.

Luka Doncic came up one rebound shy of a triple-double, and he and his teammates produced several big-time plays as the Mavs got out of the Target Center with a hard-fought 104-99 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The much-needed win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Mavs and squared their won-loss record at 16-16 going into Friday night’s contest in Houston. The Timberwolves also are 16-16.

This was a game where Reggie Bullock came alive with back-to-back three-pointers that pushed the Mavs ahead, 97-89, with 3:58 remaining in the game. And Christian Wood stepped up and showed his worth on defense when he forcefully blocked Jaden McDaniels’ dunk attempt with the Mavs ahead, 99-94, with 1:52 left in the game.

“C-Wood made a heckuva play defensively with the block there to help us,” coach Jason Kidd said. “I thought everybody participated (with) the energy.

“We were connected on both ends and we executed late to get a win here.”

Things, however, got a bit hairy there for the Mavs near the end of the game.

Tim Hardaway Jr. split a pair of free throws to increase the Mavs’ lead to 100-94 with 32.7 seconds remaining. After McDaniels sliced the deficit in half with a three-pointer, Minnesota crowded Hardaway and forced a jump ball with D’Angelo Russell with 22.6 seconds left.

Hardaway won the ensuing jump ball, and a pair of free throws from Spencer Dinwiddie and Doncic padded the Mavs’ lead to 104-97 with just 4.9 seconds remaining.

“Honestly, I think we played great basketball today,” said Doncic, who collected 25 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists and three steals. “We shared the ball and it was a great win.”

What particularly was great for the Mavs was to see Bullock, who has struggled to find his shot for most of this season, come up with a pair of huge three-pointers. The Timberwolves kept doubling Doncic and decided to leave Bullock wide-open for two corner three-pointers.

The T-Wolves’ defensive strategy turned out to be a favorable move for the Mavs.

“Reggie is a true shooter,” said Dwight Powell, who finished with 10 points, six boards and two steals. “We all believe in him and trust him, so every time he throws one up we think it’s going in.

“It’s no surprise in those big moments for us to see him bang a couple of clutch threes in.”

The three-pointers by Bullock were crucial, because it took some of the pressure off Doncic.

“Those were two big threes, all net, nothing else,” said Hardaway, who tallied 21 points. “Again, he’s competing on the defensive end like he always does.

“He did an amazing job of just staying poised, being a true pro and going out there and knocking them shots down when it counted.”

Hardaway also knocked down a few shots when it counted. In fact, he went on a personal 8-0 run – which included a couple of three-pointers – that lifted the Mavs ahead, 88-85, with 6:11 to go in the game.

“I think for the most part I’m just trying to set the tone and feed off my guys,” Hardaway said. “We had a good thing going with the plays that we were running.

“We kept on running it and had success, and I think that starts with the coaching staff going out there and seeing what the defense is doing and us players going out there and executing. So it was all hands on deck.”

Injuries to Dorian Finney-Smith (right abductor strain), Josh Green (right elbow strain) and Maxi Kleber (hamstring surgery) put a strain on the Mavs’ depth entering this game. But they shot 45.3 percent from the field and fought the Timberwolves to a 39-39 standoff on the boards, then flew to Houston with a huge smile on their face.

“I thought yesterday’s practice went very good and I thought the carryover from what we went through — by being able to take it off of practice and into the game — was really good,” Kidd said. “I thought Luka said it at the end of the game in the locker room. It’s just about our energy.

“We stayed connected, we executed, we didn’t give up the three until late to McDaniels. But just being able to execute the game plan (was great).”

The Mavs’ game plan, which limited Anthony Edwards to just 23 points and held Minnesota to only 8-of-30 shooting from three-point range, completely baffled the Timberwolves.

“Practice yesterday was good (and) the spirit of the guys was positive,” Kidd said. “So just understanding it’s a long journey and that with the injuries, again we have to shuffle the cards.

“It’s the next man up, and I thought everybody did a great job.”

Doncic, who was 8-of-16 from the field, said he was fired up after a fan sitting courtside kept needling him during the game.

“He said something and I said something else,” Doncic said. “So we just go back-and-forth. That gets me going, so I love that.”

Hardaway missed this past Monday’s 116-106 loss to the Timberwolves with a non-Covid illness. He was 4-of-10 from three-point land on Wednesday and show no effects of the illness.

“I guess it was a little flu or something going around – a little bug,” Hardaway said. “I’m fine now.

“I feel good. I’m ready to move on to the next game.”

But before moving on to the next game, the Mavs know they had to somehow make amends for not only Monday’s loss to the Timberwolves, but also last Saturday’s 100-99 loss in overtime to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“It was a big win for us, especially with the performance we all had as a group the previous (game),” Hardaway said. “I think we just wanted to get back to how we competed in Cleveland when we were short-handed.”

It showed in a big way as the Mavs were very aggressive in attacking the basket and wound up attempting more free throws in the first quarter (13) than the Timberwolves attempted in the entire game (10).

“Luka made some big shots — not just threes — but being able to play in the mid-range and being the quarterback and being able to trust his guys,” Kidd said. “We’ve been getting off to a pretty good start in the first quarter understanding just being aggressive.”

Twitter: @DwainPrice