Mavericks at Timberwolves
The battle for last place in the Western Conference takes on a head-to-head tone when the Minnesota Timberwolves host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. The two teams are tied for the worst record in the West at 11-26 despite both coming into the campaign with higher expectations.
The Timberwolves dropped their last four games to fall into the basement but at least are beginning to show signs of improvement on the defensive end while holding three of the last four opponents to 95 or fewer points. The young Minnesota squad still struggles with closing out games and allowed the Utah Jazz to end the game on an 11-0 run in a 94-92 loss on Saturday, which marked the 12th time this season the team lost a game it led by 10 or more points. The Mavericks are finally fully healthy for the first time since training camp with J.J. Barea returning to the lineup on Saturday but are still having trouble finding the win column. "It’s good to have everybody back and to have all the pieces together," Barea told the team's website, "but we’ve still got a lot of work to do."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (11-26): Dallas is still tinkering with the rotation and moved center Andrew Bogut back into the starting lineup on Saturday alongside Dirk Nowitzki while Dorian Finney-Smith came off the bench. Bogut grabbed 11 rebounds in 29 minutes but went 1-of-3 from the floor as part of the team's 39 percent shooting effort in a 97-82 loss to Atlanta. The Mavericks are last in the league in scoring offense, averaging 95.2 points, and last in rebounds (38.5).
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (11-26): Minnesota only has one player in its regular rotation (Gorgui Dieng, 26) older than 24 and is still learning under new coach Tom Thibodeau. "It’s understanding," Thibodeau told reporters after Saturday's loss. "We have to understand how different the fourth quarter is. You have to be disciplined. The reckless fouls, the reach-ins, the gambling, we’re beating ourselves when we do that. That has to be corrected. Until we correct it, the results are going to be the same." Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, 21, is frustrated as well and is slumping to 35.8 percent from the floor in the last four games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Mavericks SF Harrison Barnes is 17-of-28 from the floor in the last two games.
2. Minnesota G Zach LaVine hit multiple 3-pointers in 12 straight games.
3. Dallas took the last seven meetings.