The Mavericks completed their two-game preseason trip to Abu Dhabi on Saturday with a 104-96 loss to the Minnesota
Timberwolves.
After the game, the Mavs flew to Madrid, Spain, where they will play Real Madrid on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Dallas time before they return home on Thursday.
The Mavs played without Kyrie Irving (groin soreness), Seth Curry (illness) Markieff Morris (ankle soreness).
Jaden Hardy led the Mavs with a game-high 22 points and a game-high eight rebounds in 23 minutes on 9-of-21 shots, including 4-of-10 buckets from three-point land. Luka Doncic only played the first half and finished with 18 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals in 19 minutes while converting 5-of-12 shots.
Karl-Anthony Towns (14 points) and Naz Reid (14 points) were the pace-setters for Minnesota, who also got 13 points in 17 minutes from Anthony Edwards and 10 points in 14 minutes from Leonard Miller.
Now 0-2 in preseason, the Mavs are hoping to lock down a win against Real Madrid and are grateful for what they were able to achieve in the two games in Abu Dhabi.
“I thought the trip was a positive in so many ways when you look at the health,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We leave here healthy headed to Madrid, and then we get back to work on Monday. We’ll have tomorrow off, but again a lot of positives.
“The energy in that second-half is something that we got to look at doing better starting the games, we know that. But again, our fouls were half of (the fouls the Mavs had) from the last game, so we’re listening, we’re getting better.”
The Timberwolves led for the majority of the game, including 29-20 after the first quarter, 53-43 at intermission and 81-70 after the third quarter. But the Mavs rallied and inched to with 91-89 with 5:26 remaining in the game following a three-pointer by Jordan “Jelly” Walker.
A thunderous dunk by Dexter Dennis kept the Mavs within two points (93-91) of the Timberwolves with 4:31 left. However, Minnesota went on a 9-2 run to forge ahead, 102-93, in the waning moments.
“I thought the players did a great job,” Kidd said. “Again, the (nine-hour) time difference, the schedule, it wasn’t where these guys had the opportunity just to hang out on the beach.
“They got to see Abu Dhabi, the mosque, have dinner in the desert and I thought they were pros, and a great time for us to bond. But I thought again, the Abu Dhabi people really showed their home and opened up their doors and we really appreciate that.”
The Mavs shot 37.2 percent from the field and converted 14-of-46 three-pointers for 30.4 percent. The Timberwolves made 43.3 percent of their shots and also nailed 14-of-31 triples for 45.2 percent.
Dallas won the rebounding battle, 51-46, including a 15-13 edge on the offensive end.
Now it’s on to Madrid for the Mavs, and to the place where Doncic started his basketball career as a 13-year old. Doncic played for Real Madrid from 2014-’18 and led them to the EuroLeague title in 2018 when he also was that league’s Most Valuable Player.
In wrapping up the two games in Abu Dhabi, Kidd said: “This is a new group, this is a young team, so the guys are playing hard and it’s just a matter of when we all will trust and get that chemistry going. It doesn’t happen in 10 days, it doesn’t happen in two games.
“So, this is a long journey, but I thought the guys did a great job of coming over here and putting in the work.”
BRIEFLY: Kidd said he and his players and his staff thoroughly enjoyed their stay in Abu Dhabi. The Mavs left Dallas last Sunday to travel to the Middle East, and left Abu Dhabi following Saturday’s game. “When you look at Abu Dhabi, I think there’s a five-year contract (with the NBA), and this is the second of that five years,” Kidd said. “So, to be able to participate in this region, normally we don’t get the opportunity to travel like this in preseason. And so, to be able to come over here, to be able to see something different, as you heard from the players and other coaches, they’re excited to be able to come back in the summer or in August or September when it’s a little bit cooler. But it’s a beautiful place when you talk about Abu Dhabi. They do it right, they have class and they do it at a very high level, so this is 
something for the world to learn from.” . . . After Tuesday’s preseason game in Madrid against Real Madrid, the Mavs will play their lone preseason game at American Airlines Center on Oct. 20 against Detroit before opening the regular season in San Antonio on Oct. 25. The Mavs are the first NBA team to play as many as three preseason games overseas in one season. But they are not concerned about fatigue setting in once the regular season starts. “What I’ll say is it shouldn’t impact us,” forward Grant Williams said. “We have to compete throughout the course of an 82-game season. We can’t really complain about starting earlier. We’re basketball players, this is our job, and we have to make sure we take care of our bodies and (we) are mindful of that, and we go out there and do our job.”. .In the postgame press conference, a reporter from Dubai asked Kidd about the warm reception guard Kyrie Irving received on Saturday. “I thought the reception was incredible for everyone,” Kidd said. “Kai really enjoyed this trip, so I think when you look at Luka and Kai, they’re going to be one of the best duos in this league and we’re very blessed to have them as teammates. And as a coach, we’re all excited. It just shows what Kai stands for. He’s a leader, he’s about peace and so it was remarkable to see his acceptance here.”
X: @DwainPrice
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