Wolves down Mavericks, take advantage of Doncic ejection

Anthony Edwards scored 27 points, collected a season-best 13 rebounds and had nine assists to help the Minnesota Timberwolves post a 116-106 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night (Tuesday, December 20, Manila time) at Minneapolis in the first of back-to-back games between the teams.

Naz Reid contributed 27 points and 13 rebounds as the Timberwolves won their third straight contest. This victory came one night after Minnesota set a franchise record for points in a 150-126 rout of the Chicago Bulls.

Jaylen Nowell scored 18 points off the bench, Austin Rivers added 16 points and Jaden McDaniels scored 13 for the Timberwolves.

Luka Doncic recorded 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Mavericks but had his franchise record of 36 consecutive 20-point outings halted when referee Rodney Mott ejected him with two minutes left in the third quarter. Dallas coach Jason Kidd was also ejected in the aftermath.

Spencer Dinwiddie made five 3-pointers and led the Mavericks with 20 points, Davis Bertans scored 18 points on six 3-pointers and Christian Wood added 15 points and 13 rebounds. Kemba Walker tallied 14 points for Dallas and Dorian Finney-Smith had nine points in 28 minutes before leaving with an adductor strain.

The squads meet against Wednesday night (Thursday, December 22, Manila time) in Minneapolis.

Rudy Gobert (ankle) missed his third straight game and Minnesota teammate Kyle Anderson (back spasms) also sat out.

Tim Hardaway Jr. (non-COVID illness), Josh Green (elbow), Maxi Kleber (hamstring) and Dwight Powell (thigh) sat out for the Mavericks.

Minnesota shot 47.2 percent from the field, including 12 of 31 from 3-point range.

Dallas made 40.8 percent of its shots and was 19 of 45 from behind the arc.

The Mavericks were trailing 85-69 during a stoppage late in the third quarter when Doncic said something to Mott. Doncic seemed stunned that he was tossed, and an enraged Kidd rushed toward the official and was held back while drawing his own ejection.

Edwards hit all four technicals to boost Minnesota’s lead to 20.

The Timberwolves led 94-74 entering the final stanza and maintained a double-digit lead throughout despite Bertans making five treys in the quarter for Dallas.

Doncic drained a 3-pointer late in the first quarter as the Mavericks held a 30-21 lead.

The Timberwolves exploded in the second quarter by shooting 59.1 percent (13 of 22) while Dallas made just 25 percent (4 of 16) of its shots. Minnesota finished the quarter with a 21-5 surge and outscored the Mavericks 36-14 to hold a 57-44 halftime advantage. – Rappler.com