Mavericks halt Timberwolves' three-game win streak
DALLAS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves hoped to extend a season-long three-game winning streak before tough road tests at San Antonio and the Los Angeles Clippers, but they failed to take advantage of the struggling Dallas Mavericks and fell 98-87 on Sunday at the American Airlines Center.
Dallas (13-27) got a balanced scoring attack with six players in double figures, led by Wesley Matthews' 19 points and Dirk Nowitzki's 17. J.J. Barea produced 15 off the bench.
The Mavericks shot 46.8 percent from the field and helped themselves by draining 12 3-pointers on 29 attempts.
After a fast and even start, Dallas took command with a 29-point second quarter and built a 44-29 lead. The Timberwolves (14-27), coming off a big win over Oklahoma City on Friday, worked hard to get back in the game and trailed just 68-66 in the third quarter.
But all that hard work flew out the window as Minnesota allowed Dallas to regain control and expand the lead back to the original 15-point cushion midway through the fourth quarter.
Timberwolves forward Gorgui Dieng scored a team-high 21 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had a bit of an off day considering his recent box score-stuffing performances. He finished with 18 points and nine rebounds to end a streak of 10 consecutive double-doubles.
Andrew Wiggins had 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Timberwolves. Ricky Rubio, playing well lately, had just eight points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field and 10 assists.
The Timberwolves were limited to 43.8 percent shooting from the floor and were severely outscored behind the arc, hitting just 5 of 21. They also managed to go just 12 of 18 from the free throw line.
The Mavs put up a stop sign with their veteran players coming through and handing the Timberwolves' youngsters a loss they hoped to avoid considering their upcoming road schedule.
Helping Matthews and Nowitzki was point guard Deron Williams with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, including three 3-pointers, and 10 assists. Harrison Barnes added 13 points and Devin Harris had 10 points off the bench.
Even without starting center Andrew Bogut, who missed the game with a strained hamstring, Dallas managed to hold its own on the boards, a problem that has dogged them all season. Minnesota had just a 44-41 rebounding edge.
It was just the eighth home win for Dallas all season. Minnesota lost for the 15th in 19 road games.
NOTES: Mavericks C Andrew Bogut (strained right hamstring) missed his second consecutive game and was ruled out indefinitely by coach Rick Carlisle. ... F Dirk Nowitzki entered Sunday's game needing to play 27 minutes to take over ninth place from Reggie Miller (47,619 minutes) on the NBA's career minutes played list. ... Dallas signed G Pierre Jackson to a 10-day contract. After a short stint with the team earlier in the season, the former Baylor standout was playing for Dallas' D-League affiliate. ... The Mavs recalled F Nicolas Brussino from their D-League affiliate. Brussino averaged 16.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists in three games. He could again be assigned to the Texas Legends after Sunday's game. ... Minnesota G Zach LaVine (hip contustion) was active after missing the previous two games. ... Timberwolves C Karl-Anthony Towns entered the game with a streak of 10 consecutive double-doubles. ... ... Sunday's game was changed from an evening tipoff to 2 p.m. ET to reduce overlap with Sunday's 4:40 p.m. ET kickoff for the NFC divisional playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.