Christmas did not start well for the Dallas Mavericks. Then, after point guard Luka Dončić strained his left calf muscle late in the second
quarter, things got progressively worst.
But after shaking off the thought of Dončić being injured again, the Mavs pumped some life into American Airlines Center before eventually falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 105-99, in front of a Wednesday afternoon sellout crowd of 20,341.
Dončić, who missed two contests against the Los Angeles Clippers last week while dealing with a left heel contusion, was injured with less than three minutes remaining before halftime when he started grimacing after he planted on his left foot and picked up his dirbble. At the time, the Mavs were down, 48-38, and looked out of sync.
“We just missed shots that we had been making here of late,” coach Jason Kidd said. “But give Minnesota credit.
“They’re a good defensive team, they’re a really good team, they’re well coached, and they made shots and we didn’t. We’ll go back and look and see how we can get a little bit better with that.”
Now that they didn’t have to worry about Dončić, the Timberwolves built a massive 28-point lead in the third quarter. But the Mavs used some grit and determination to crawl all the way to within 101-99 of Minnesota behind the magic of Kyrie Irving, 
who tallied 15 of his game-high 39 points in the fourth quarter.
The Mavs even had a chance to tie or go ahead in this game, but Irving’s three-pointer with 36.2 seconds remaining hit the front of the rim, and Anthony Edwards’ driving layup gave Minnesota a 103-99 lead with 18.6 seconds left.
Klay Thompson then missed a three-pointer, and Plano native Julius Randle nailed two charity tosses with 14.3 seconds to go to close out the scoring.
“We didn’t play well for three quarters, we stayed together (and) kept fighting,” Kidd said. “We were getting good looks — they just didn’t fall for us.
“I think our energy kind of dropped when we weren’t making shots, and as a good team, we just got to stay the course, and I thought we displayed that this afternoon.”
In this rematch of the two teams who met in last season’s Western Conference Finals won by the Mavs, Irving said: “I feel like we didn’t give up and we gave ourselves a chance. I was going for the dagger (on that late three-point attempt).
“I was just shooting that three to give us some space possessions-wise, but it just didn’t work out. But I’m just grateful that we didn’t give up and we responded really well and kept the game close.”
A win would have put the Mavs (19-11) in the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed. Now they have to march on – Dallas opens a four-game road trip Friday in Phoenix 
– without knowing how long Dončić might be sidelined.
“I think this is a group that can win, and they believe that and they’ve shown that and the record speaks for itself,” Kidd said. “But we also need (Dončić).
“He’s just been hit with some injuries here of late. Hopefully this one isn’t that serious, because we need him if we want to win a championship.”
Right after the injury to Dončić the two teams ran up court and Mike Conley drained a three-pointer to give Minnesota a 51-38 lead. It was as if the air left the building when Dončić left the game for good, and it took almost two quarters for the Mavs to get their sea legs back.
“We’re just being human,” Irving said. “Seeing one of your brothers go down, and you got to still regulate your emotions, it can be difficult.
“Being able to respond after halftime, and going into the fourth quarter. . .we still had a chance. Especially in this new NBA, teams will give it right back to you if you just play hard and be in the right positions and continue to stay committed to yourself.”
Thompson, who passed Reggie Miller while moving into fifth place on the NBA’s all-time list of three-pointers made, pointed out the resiliency the Mavs displayed when things weren’t exactly going their way.
“It just sucks that we lost,” said Thompson, who scored 12 points. “I’m really proud, though, of our fight, especially in the second half. We were tenacious defensively and realized some things offensively.
“As far as passing Reggie, it’s obviously a dream come true and I’m going to celebrate tonight because you just think of all the hours you spent shooting and all the shots you’ve gotten up in your lifetime. And to pass such an icon like Reggie is super surreal for me.”
The Timberwolves (15-14) led 90-68 entering the fourth quarter. That’s when Irving took matters into his own hands and got the Mavs – and the crowd – back into the game with a series of breath-taking shots.
“He was efficient,” Kidd said. “He got to his spots. Again, we got the stops. Our defense set the table for us to get back into the game, and he was aggressive offensively there to start that fourth quarter.
“We put ourselves in position (to tie the game or take the lead) with the ball. He had a good look at the three, it was short, but again we’ll take that three all day.”
Edwards led the Timberwolves with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Randle finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 10 boards.
Dončić had 14 points and five rebounds in just 16 minutes before he was injured, and Quentin Grimes finished with 10 points on 4-of-8 shots. Still, going forward, the Mavs know they’ve already managed to produce a 6-2 record this season when they’ve been without Dončić.
“We’re lucky we have such a deep roster,” Thompson said. “We obviously are not the same without Luka in the lineup. I think it’s obviously.
“But we are going to do everything we can to go on a run without him.”
And until then. . .
“We played a lot of guys some heavy minutes this afternoon and they responded and gave us a chance to tie the game or win the game,” Kidd said. “We never want anybody to get hurt.
“We have injuries, and it’s part of the game. Hopefully, this will be (Dončić’s) last one and hopefully it’s not too serious.”
X: DwainPrice
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